Interactive shape acquisition using marker attached laser projector

A 3D shape acquisition system consisting of a laser projector and a video camera is described. A user projects a stripe of light to the measured 3D scene by hand. The projected light and LED markers attached to the laser projector are captured with the video camera. By estimating the 3D pose of the laser projector from the 2D locations of the markers, the distance to the surface lit by the laser can be calculated. The use of a laser projector that projects a stripe of light enables correction of shape estimation errors from known 3D surfaces. With this system, the user can measure the 3D shapes of objects in real time, thereby confirming the shape acquisition of each part of the surface.