Surface Measurement Based on Instantaneous Random Illumination

This article introduces a surface measurement system which is able to take a measurement in an extremely short period of less than 2 milliseconds. It is composed of two cameras together with a specifically designed projector that projects an instantaneous random image pattern onto the objective surface. With the aid of the projected pattern, a match of image with corresponding sub-pixel is steadily established and a cluster of dense 3D points is obtained at the same time. A detailed discussion about the design and implementation of hardware is presented. A system calibration algorithm taking into account the possible geometric error of the planar calibration board is also put forward. Experiments are carried out to evaluate the system accuracy and its capability of capturing details of complex surfaces.