Flexible calibration method for line-structured light based on binocular vision

A new calibration technique for line-structured light scanning systems is proposed in this study. Compared with existing methods, this technique is more flexible and practical. Complicated operations, precision calibration target and positioning devices are all unnecessary. Only a blank planar board, which is placed at several(at least two) arbitrary orientations, and an additional camera that is calibrated under the global coordinate system are required. Control points are obtained through improved binocular intersection algorithm that avoids corresponding points matching and then used to calculate the light stripe plane through least square fitting. Experiment results indicate that the system calibrated by this technique is able to conduct surface measurement, offering an accuracy superior to 32μm(RMS).