Fully automated low-cost setup for fringe projection profilometry

In this paper an alternative low-cost, easy-to-use, and fully automated profilometry setup is proposed. The setup is based on a phase-shifting fringe projection technique with four projected fringe parameters. It uses the well-known triangulation arrangement and low-cost electronic and image acquisition components such as a data acquisition board, a motor controller board, a printer rail, a CMOS webcam, and an LCD projector. The position of the camera, the generation of the fringe pattern, the acquisition of the images, and the calculation of the wrapped and unwrapped phase are all performed in LabVIEW. The setup is portable and can be perfectly adapted to be used in other profilometry techniques such as electronic speckle pattern interferometry and laser scanning profilometry.