Acquisition of three-dimensional image data by a scanning laser range finder

We describe a 3-D vision system designed and constructed at the Technical Research Centre of Finland in cooperation with the University of Oulu. The system was developed chiefly for geometric measurements of large objects. The system has been operative for about one year, and its performance has been extensively tested. The system consists of three main units: the range finder, the scanner, and the computer. The range finder is based on the direct measurement of the time-of-flight of a laser pulse. The scanner consists of two mirrors driven by moving iron galvanometers; this unit is controlled by servo amplifiers. The computer controls the scanner, transforms the measured coordinates into a Cartesian coordinate system, and serves as a user interface and postprocessing environment