Automating laser scanning of 3D surfaces for reverse engineering

Vincent H. Chan; Colin H. Bradley; Geoffrey W. Vickers

doi:10.1117/12.294454

10 December 1997 Automating laser scanning of 3D surfaces for reverse engineering

Vincent H. Chan, Colin H. Bradley, Geoffrey W. Vickers

Proceedings Volume 3204, Three-Dimensional Imaging and Laser-based Systems for Metrology and Inspection III; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.294454
Event: Intelligent Systems and Advanced Manufacturing, 1997, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Abstract

Application of current 3-D laser scanning systems to reverse engineering is limited by two obstacles. The meticulous guidance of the laser scanner over the surface of the object being scanned and the segmentation of the cloud data which is collected by the laser scanner. Presently, both obstacles are being manually solved. The guidance of the laser scanning sensor at the correct surface to sensor distance is dependent on operator judgement and the segmentation of the collected data is reliant on the user to manually define surface boundaries on a computer screen. By applying a 2-D CCD camera, both of these problems can be resolved. Depth information on the location of the object surface can be derived from a pair of stereo images from the CCD camera. Using this depth information, the scanner path can be automatically calculated. Segmentation of the object surface can be accomplished by employing a Kohonen neural network into the CCD image. Successful segmentation of the image is conditional on the locations selected to start neural nodes as well as the prevention of the neuron connectors from bleeding onto neighboring patches. Thus the CCD camera allows for the automatic path planning of the laser scanner as well as the segmentation of the surface into patches defined along its natural boundaries.

Citation Download Citation

Vincent H. Chan, Colin H. Bradley, and Geoffrey W. Vickers "Automating laser scanning of 3D surfaces for reverse engineering", Proc. SPIE 3204, Three-Dimensional Imaging and Laser-based Systems for Metrology and Inspection III, (10 December 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.294454

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