A handheld 3D surface digitiser using magnetic trackers
by
Rick Fright
Applied Research Associates NZ Ltd
Coauthors: Bruce McCallum, Mark Nixon, Brent Price

The aim of the hand-held laser scanner project has been the development of an extremely flexible scanner suitable for rapidly digitising irregularly shaped objects, such as a model or actual human body, and capable of a modest resolution and accuracy concomitant with the level of detail in these kinds of surfaces.

The scanner is essentially a hand-held laser range-finder that incorporates a magnetic tracker (electromagnetic spatial locator) as a 3D frame-of-reference.

The special requirements that determine the design of the range-finding optics are described. Our choice of spatial locator and techniques to optimise range, resolution and accuracy are explained. The computer algorithms developed for processing the data are discussed. Examples from actual applications of the scanner are presented.

Applied Research Associates NZ Ltd

Date received: February 9, 1999

Copyright © 1999 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cabp-37.