Abstract
The methods and instruments of dynamic laser goniometry developed over many years of research carried out in the St Petersburg State Electrotechnical University [formerly Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute (LETI)] are considered. The primary sources of error and conditions for error minimisation are identified and evaluated. The laser goniometers developed have been used to certify optical polygons and angular position sensors, to estimate angular motion parameters of various objects, and specifically to measure angular positions of crystals in the unique diffraction spectrometer built at the St Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics (PINP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Modern measurement technologies combined with a self-calibrated ring laser allowed a large amount of measuring information to be accumulated over a short (1 to 5 min) period of time and ensured that the random component of angle measurement uncertainty is as small as 0.02 to 0.03 " in the 0 — 360° range. On the basis of inertial properties of a ring laser, a new concept was proposed for constructing a new generation of measuring systems intended to estimate complex angular motions and to provide dynamic calibration of multiple-axis test beds, large-scale antenna systems, telescopes, and other objects.