Surface contour mapping using cross-shaped structured light beam

The integration of automated measurement and continuous-path robot control plays an important role in autonomous manufacturing systems. A technique is presented that provides simultaneous measurement of the position and orientation of a 3D object surface point, using a cross-shaped light beam. This is an important step towards upgrading a robot manipulator to a unit with a high degree of flexibility with rapid, convenient automatic contour programming. The methodology presented covers the measuring of the position and orientation of a surface point, and the generation of a bicubic surface patch using the measured data.<
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