A laser tracking system for a hot moving ingot

Tracking a hot moving ingot in the metallurgy industries is a difficult task, due to the high temperature and the large scale of the furnace. Based upon the investigation of currently available techniques, in this paper, a laser tracking system which consists of two laser range finders, an electronic slider and a computer is presented. The system can be used online for tracking the position and orientation of a moving ingot up to 100 m with accuracy of 3.8 mm. In addition, the software provides curve plotting, file management and inquiry functions.