An imaging system with structured lighting for on‐line generic sensing of three‐dimensional objects

This paper focuses on the design of an inexpensive and accurate range scanner for automatic acquisition of a CAD model of a manufactured part by using two‐dimensional images to determine a digitized three‐dimensional shape. In the developed approach, the object is passed at a speed of 4 cm/s through a single linear laser stripe and forty continuous images are captured into the frame memory of the host computer for subsequent processing. A major problem that is encountered in the design of laser stripe scanner is the specula reflection, which can be mitigated by the developed approach. Six center‐locating algorithms are described, which are central to the developed approach. These algorithms are able to achieve sub‐pixel accuracy. The center of mass algorithm that uses three points, gives the best repeatability over the other algorithms. The center of mass algorithm that uses intensity threshold, provides the best linearity over the other algorithms.