Skip to content
Real3d

Real3d Scanner V2

Real-time structured-light 3D scanning

The real-time scanning module enables 3D scanning of any object with a camera and a projector. Because the camera and the pattern phase shifts are perfectly synchronised, you do not need to worry about camera FPS — the capture delay is adjustable for slower cameras.

For offline scanning, projected fringe patterns are captured with any camera. Once the images are captured, you simply import them into the module for wrapping and unwrapping.

Whenever an object is scanned with structured-light technology, a reference plane must be set up so that height can be extracted accurately (height = object phase − reference phase). The reference phase can be obtained in two ways:

  • Pre-compute the reference phase by projecting the fringe patterns onto a flat reference plane.
  • Compute the reference plane from the object phase data — no separate reference plane is required. In this case the reference plane can be adjusted with skew and scale factors.

The scanning module is split into three sections matching these methods:

  • Left section — object phase images only; no need to capture the reference plane. The simpler approach but less accurate.
  • Middle section — accurate 3D measurements using captured reference-plane images and scanning parameters such as camera focal length and projected fringe pitch. Several phase-to-coordinate conversion algorithms are available.
  • Right section — real-time 3D scanning. Both the left and middle sections can also be used in real-time mode.

Three phase-shifting methods are supported: 3-step (three patterns at 2π/3), 4-step (four patterns at π/2), and the highly accurate 5-step (five patterns at π/2).

The 3D scanning module: left (object phase only), middle (precise with reference plane), right (real-time mode).

Sinusoidal fringe-pattern generation

The pattern-generation module can generate, display, and save 3, 4, and 5-step sinusoidal phase-shifting fringe patterns to disk. It takes the pitch, dimensions, average intensity, and intensity modulation of the fringe pattern as inputs.

Camera module

The camera module initialises the camera for capturing projected patterns. Two display modes are available:

  • Gray mode — designed for real-time 3D scanning. Configurable capture-screen dimensions, X/Y offset, and camera index (0, 1, 2…). Images can be saved at any time.
  • Color mode — displays the camera at full resolution.

You can switch between modes at any time. Gray or colour video can be recorded at a chosen frame rate. A flip option handles upside-down or mirrored mounts.

Real-time phase shifting of fringe patterns

This module projects 3, 4, or 5-step patterns as a slideshow. The timing can be switched between steady rate and eye-blink hold. Patterns can be stopped at any time during the slideshow — when stopped, real-time 3D scanning also pauses; unchecking the stop button resumes it. During the slideshow the small box labelled N displays the index of the current pattern projected and captured.