Design and optimization of three-dimensional scanning laser range finder

The purpose of this project is to develop a technique for minimizing the number of iterations needed to determine the XY&Z position for a laser rangefinding system. Using a Charged Coupled Device (CCD) camera to view a robotic work area a user can select an object on a monitor. A LASER is used to project a beam into the work area and the camera in conjunction with image processing software and hardware is used to locate the LASER spot. The purpose of the research in this paper is to devise techniques to minimize the number of points needed to determine XY&Z location without sacrificing accuracy. The techniques developed to reduce the number of iterations worked very well. They were extensively tested in the laboratory to determine the number of iterations needed for a solution and the accuracy of that solution. However, the error for calculating the XYZ position was adversely affected by system errors. These system errors were comprised of the errors associated with positioning motors and with the camera modeling. Changing the configuration could minimize these errors and dramatically improve the accuracy. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)