The task was to implement the Helmert transformation for use in a bridge construction/maintenance project. I found an old article by Shinji Umeyama explaining how to solve the problem using the SVD decomposition. So I learned just enough of VB.net programming in order to import a suitable linear algebra package and implement the algorithm.

In a follow-up project, we used this Helmert transformation as the basis for an error correction procedure during the casting of concrete segments.