A Simple Sensor to Gather Three-Dimensional Data

Citation

Bolles, R. C., Cain, R. A., & Kremers, J. H. (1981). A simple sensor to gather three-dimensional data. Stanford Research Institute International.

Abstract

A simple triangulation-based range sensor and its calibration procedure are described. The sensor consists of a projector that produces a plane of light, a camera that observes the intersection of the plan of light and objects in the scene, and a computer that calculates the x-y-z positions of points along the intersection. In this paper straightforward procedures are presented for calibrating a camera, computing the equation of a plane, and combining a camera calibration and an equation of a light plane to form a “sensor” matrix. The sensor matrix can be used to compute the x-y-z positions for points along the intersection efficiently.


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