Reflected light from the object is then captured by a single camera and used to geometrically reconstruct the shape of a surface in three dimensions. In the simplest form of structured light system, a single laser stripe is projected onto a 3-D surface (see Fig. Structured-light 3-D scanners are active stereo vision systems that are commonly used to measure the 3-D shape of an object using projected light patterns and a camera.
In Part III of this three-part series, associate professor Daniel Lau (Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky) explains how structured light scanners can be used to produce high-resolution 3-D scans. How do structured-light systems work and what are the advantages over other 3-D imaging systems?
