A paintbrush laser range scanner

Abstract

A new hand-held laser range scanner is introduced that can capture multi-view range images of an object and integrate the images without registering them. The scanner uses a reference double-frame that acts as the coordinate system of the object. Range images captured from different views of the object are in the coordinate system of the double-frame and, thus, automatically come together. A single-view image is obtained by sweeping a laser line over the object while keeping the camera fixed and analyzing the acquired laser stripes. The laser line generator and the camera can move independently, making it possible to conveniently scan an object just like painting over it with a paintbrush while viewing it from different views. The hardware and software organization of the scanner are described, the characteristics of the scanner are investigated, and example images captured by the scanner are presented.