Advances in 3D Camera: Time-of-Flight vs. Active Triangulation

Over the last decade, numerous 3D camera techniques have been proposed and advanced dramatically. One main approach is time-of-flight (TOF) and the other is active triangulation. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we overview the principle of each method and compare the advantages and disadvantages in detail, and introduce several commercially available 3D cameras and their characteristics.