Local positioning accuracy of laser sensors for structural health monitoring

This paper investigates the possibility of increasing the accuracy of local positioning by multiple readings and their differential elaboration. The case study adopts noncontact laser displacement sensors (with the limitation of being installed in the plane of the motion). Two sensors are mounted; one of them addresses its beam to an object at rest. The second sensor is focused on the moving object. Elaborations from the readings of both sensors are shown to increase the measured accuracy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.