Various intelligent stands are disclosed that sense potential changes in their position and environment such that they can provide an alert and feedback to a user of the stand or software that is being used in conjunction with a portable Coordinate Measuring Machine (“CMM”) if movement or an environmental change has occurred that may impact the accuracy of a measurement made by a CMM that is being supported by the intelligent stand. In various embodiments, the smart stand also contains onboard software capable of collecting data from a CMM eliminating the need for a separate computer with associated measurement software. The smart stand also has the ability to work with a network of other wireless sensors that can be attached to the part of interest or objects in the environment to sense if the part has been bumped or the extended environment has changed.