Three-dimensional shape measurement of a transparent object using a rangefinding approach

This paper describes a non-contact optical measuring approach by which to measure the three-dimensional (3D) shape of a transparent object such as a glass panel or an acrylic plate. In conventional approaches to obtain the 3D shape of a transparent object, contact-type sensors have been widely used. However, the measurement accuracy of contact-type sensors is susceptible to the influence of various factors. In this paper, we propose a novel triangulation-based rangefinding approach that can be applied to the 3D shape of a transparent object or to an opaque object. The rangefinder is based on the fact that the light projected onto the surface of a transparent object is in part reflected by the surface, though the majority of the projected light is transmitted through the surface. From the experimental results, the proposed rangefinding approach has the advantage that it can easily measure the 3D-shape of an object if the object reflects or transmits light, depending on its location. As a result, we conclude that the proposed approach has great potential for a wide range of industrial applications.