Compact handheld fringe projection based underwater 3D-scanner

A new, fringe projection based compact handheld 3D scanner for the surface reconstruction of measurement objects under water is introduced. The weight of the scanner is about 10 kg and can be used in a water depth of maximal 40 metres. A measurement field of about 250 mm x 200 mm is covered under water, and the lateral resolution of the measured object points is about 150 mm. Larger measurement objects can be digitized in a unique geometric model by merging subsequently recorded datasets. The recording time for one 3D scan is a third of a second. The projection unit for the structured illumination of the scene as well as the computer for device control and measurement data analysis are included into the scanners housing. A display on the backside of the device realizes the graphical presentation of the current measurement data. It allows the user to evaluate the quality of the measurement result in real-time already during the recording of the measurement under water. For the calibration of the underwater scanner a combined method of air- and water-calibration was developed which needs only a few recorded underwater images of a plane surface and an object with known lengths. First measurement results obtained with the new scanner are presented.