A laser based tracking unit (100) communicates with a target (150) to obtain position information about the target . Specifically, the target (150) is placed at the point to be measured. The pitch, yaw and roll movements of the target (150) , and the spherical coordinates of the target relative to the tracking unit are then obtained (200). The target can be, for example, an active device incorporated into a moveable device such as a remote controlled robot.