Automated 360° profilometry of 3-D diffuse objects

A novel approach to 360° measurement and reconstruction of the surface topography of 3-D diffuse objects is presented. The method is fully automated and based on the principle of phase-measuring profilometry with a projected sinusoidal grating. A complete 3-D shape is reconstructed from a series of line-section profiles corresponding to discrete angular positions of the object. The system consists simply of a slide projector with a translatable grating, a linear detector array, and a microcomputer for control and processing. Experimental results for a general 3-D object and a performance analysis are presented.