Speed, Precision, and Power for Modern Field Surveying
If you want a total station that doesn’t drive your layout guy illogical, stop buying gear-driven units. Every time a haul truck rolls past or a pump boom gets in the way, the instrument goes blind and spends half the morning spinning in circles trying to find the prism again.
Switch to a setup with active tracking. The second your surveyor steps out from behind a wall or a piece of iron, the EDM locks right back onto the prism and gets back to work. Drop us a line or come by the shop to take one out on your job site for a day.
We supply Sokkia’s iX-1500 and iX-700 series robotic total stations because they replace clunky internal gears with ultra-fast direct-drive Ultrasonic motors. Built for high-speed tracking, these compact units spin up to 180° per second to find your prism instantly – keeping your survey layout crew moving even around heavy equipment and site obstructions.
Here is an in-depth breakdown of how the iX-1500 and iX-700 perform on real-world construction and survey sites.
1. Ultrasonic Direct-Drive Motors: Unmatched Turning Speed
Standard gear-driven robots max out around 45° to 50° a second. Over time, those internal gears slop out and wear down – leaving your layout guy with tracking lag, mechanical backlash, and lost time on site. Sokkia ditched gears altogether for a direct-drive Ultrasonic Motor, stripping out wear parts so the instrument turns faster, locks on quicker, and stays locked onto your prism.
- 150°/Second Rotation Speed: The iX-1500 and iX-700 turn at a blazing 150° per second. If a anything breaks your line of sight, the unit rotates almost instantly to re-acquire your target.
- RC-PR5A: The Sokkia RC-PR5A is a remote-control search unit mounted on a 360° survey prism for single-operator robotic total station setups. At the press of a button, it sends an optical search signal to trigger rapid target re-acquisition, while the 360° prism enables continuous tracking from any angle without manual target alignment.
- Compact, Lightweight Housing: Eliminating heavy gearboxes dropped instrument weight to roughly 4.8 kg to 5.8 kg (depending on exact model specs), making it roughly a third smaller and significantly lighter than legacy robotic units.
- Gearless Reliability: Fewer moving mechanical parts directly translate to longer service intervals and increased job site durability.
2. UltraTrac Technology: Rock-Solid Lock in Heat & Dust
Fast rotation means nothing if your optics drop target lock in ambient clutter. Both the iX-1500 and iX-700 utilize UltraTrac tracking technology, optimized for challenging field conditions:
- Heat Shimmer & Dust: Heat shimmer, diesel exhaust, and thick dust kill standard optical tracking. Sokkia’s UltraTrac technology cuts through dust, exhaust and optical summer heat waves and site shimmer to keep an active lock on your prism – so your layout crew stops chasing lost signals and stays moving.
- Instant Re-Acquisition: Step out from behind a pillar or trench wall, and it locks straight back onto your prism. Your guy isn’t sitting around waiting for a search wheel to spin, and nobody is walking back to the tripod to point the thing manually.
- iX-1500 vs. iX-700: Choosing the Right Instrument
While both series share the core ultrasonic drive and rugged chassis, they cater to different accuracy requirements and project scopes.
| Feature / Capability | Sokkia iX-1500 Series | Sokkia iX-700 Series |
| Angular Accuracy Classes | High-precision options (1″, 3″, 5″) | Standard accuracy options (3″, 5″) |
| Primary Field Application | High-precision civil engineering, structural monitoring, complex BIM layout, bridge piers | Standard site layout, boundary surveying, utility mapping, general earthworks |
| Prism Range | Up to 6,000 m (standard prism) | Up to 6,000 m (standard prism) |
| Reflectorless EDM Range | Up to 800 m / 1,000 m | Up to 800 m |
| Motor Drive Type | Gearless Ultrasonic (150°/sec) | Gearless Ultrasonic (150°/sec) |
| Environmental Protection | IP65 dust/waterproof | IP65 dust/waterproof |
4. Modern Workflow Integration: Hybrid Positioning & Cloud Sync
- Stop wasting time with thumb drives and paper field books – get a Sokkia 1500/700 station that streams point files and stakeout updates straight between your crew and the office in real time.
- Cellular Data & IoT Capability: Built-in cellular data connections allow field operators to upload CAD linework, DXF, and CSV point files directly from the cloud or office software (such as MAGNET Field) straight to the controller in real time.
- Built for Extremes: Featuring an IP65 environmental rating, both units are fully sealed against driving rain and blowing sand, operating reliably in temperatures ranging from -20°C to +50°C.
Upgrade Your Field Operations with Rise Geo Control Systems
Losing target lock shouldn’t slow down your field productivity. Whether you need the ultra-high accuracy of the Sokkia iX-1500 for structural alignment or the rugged versatility of the Sokkia iX-700 for daily site layout, Rise Geo Control Systems provides complete equipment supply, fleet servicing, and technical support across the region.
From the desk of :
Technical & Service Manager with 25+ years of experience in the industry.