Multichannel method for absolute shape measurement using projected fringes

The multichannel approach is combined with the reduced temporal phase unwrapping scheme for rapid shape measurement. The shape is measured using projected fringes and optical triangulation. Fringes are projected using a colour video projector and recorded by a CCD-camera. Using a colour video projector and a colour video camera makes it possible to use the red, green and blue channels individually. This is the multichannel method. In each channel, the blue, green and red carries fringe maps with different fringe pitch. A short sequence of phase-stepped images is projected and acquired sequentially in time. This reduces measurement time by a factor of three when compared to using one channel. From the acquired images, it is possible to calculate absolute phase using the reduced temporal phase unwrapping analysis scheme. For each channel, it is also possible to calculate fringe contrast and fringe amplitude. Therefore, it is possible to retrieve the colour of an object without acquiring an extra image. The method is demonstrated by measuring the shape of two generally coloured and complex shaped objects.