Research on laser stripe characteristics and center extraction algorithm for desktop laser scanner

This study presents laser stripe center extraction algorithm for desktop-level 3D laser scanners. The laser stripe center extraction accuracy is an important factor affecting 3D scanning result. Desktop-level devices should have adaptability of a wide range of scanning objects. In this paper, laser stripe energy distribution characteristics with different laser stripe width, ambient light, materials and colors are obtained by experiments. Experiment results show that waveforms of bright spot, low brightness stripe and stripe with large width are complex or easily disturbed, so the center extraction algorithm of them are studied. The extraction effects of extremum method, gradient method and gray centroid method under different conditions are compared. Based on traditional grayscale value, a weighted grayscale value is proposed to extract laser stripe center. Standard deviations of extracted pixel position and fitting pixel position are calculated by different method with different weighted grayscale value. For different conditions, especially for different ambient light intensity, weight matrix plays an important role to extraction result.