A Scheme for Enhancing Precision in 3-Dimensional Positioning for Non-Contact Measurement Systems Based on Laser Triangulation

Laser triangulation allows non-contact measurement in the third dimension. Due to the nonlinearities presented in camera and laser sensor, large range distances are quite difficult to measure with high precision. In order to enhance the precision and accuracy of large range measurement based on laser triangulation, we propose a novel scheme composed of four laser emitters, curve fitting subpixel location algorithm for laser center detection, and the linear regression approach based on the Gaussian model for calibration. When an object performs a 100 mm displacement from a closer to a farther point, our system achieved a repeatability up to ±7 µm, an estimated standard deviation of fitting error within 0.0027 mm, an expanded uncertainty of repeatability within 0.13 mm, an average error variation of rotational plane within 0.15 degree and a nonlinearity error within ±0.04% in full scale. Compared to published results, our proposed method shows an enhancement in accuracy. The error is significantly reduced and maintains at the low level for large ranges, which makes this system applicable and suitable for industrial and indoor applications.