Research progress of the line structured light measurement technique

Line structured light sensor (LSLS) is composed of a laser line projector and a camera. The profile data of the measured object can be obtained by analyzing the perturbed stripe images captured by the camera. The sensors have the advantages of simple construction, low cost, non-contact, high efficiency and flexible application. Thus, they have gained extensive application prospects in research and industry. The measuring technique by use of the LSLSs is reviewed in four aspects as quality control of stripe images and center extraction, sensor calibration, collaborative measurement via multiple sensors, and the integration of the sensor with motion axes. The current problems in the research and the application of this measuring technique are summarized, and the future research trends can be concluded as further improving the measuring accuracy, enhancing the sensor adaptability, and developing the structured light sensor based intelligent measuring system.