Error compensation for laser line scanners

•Measurement error model for laser line scanner to simulate the systematic error.•Algorithm to compensate the systematic error on a measurement of geometrical features.•Experimental validation of the algorithm on ring gauges and a gauge block. This paper presents an algorithm to compensate the systematic error of lasers line scanned data based on the measurement error model of the measurement system. The iterative process of the algorithm is used to determine geometrical features accurately, solely making use of an optical measurement device. The systematic error on the task-specific measurement is reduced by the algorithm. The validation of the algorithm consists of the evaluation of multiple compensated measurements on calibrated ring gauges with different diameters and similar surface properties as the acquisition artefact of the measurement error model. Furthermore, a validation is performed on a gauge block. Experimental research shows the reduction of the systematic error as a function of the scan strategy due to the compensation by the algorithm.