Error compensation for three-dimensional line laser scanning data

In this paper, the problem of compensation of 3D line laser scanning data f or improved inspection accuracy is addressed. This problem is important, as a 3D line laser scanner is about one order less accurate than a touch prob e. The approach taken is to compensate through error characterisation. In o ther words, a soft-ware compensation is performed, instead of a hardware co mpensation, which is probably more expensive. To do so, the errors associat ed with a 3D line laser scanning system are first characterised. With error characterisation, an empirical formula is obtained relating the errors to the influencing factors including the projected angle and the scan depth. T his empirical formula is used to compensate for the digitised surface data obtained by the corresponding laser scanning system. The results show that the proposed approach effectively improves inspection accuracy.