Fast 3D Reconstruction using Structured Light Methods

In this presentation we discuss the use of structured light scanners for the general problem of 3D surface reconstruction. We show that projecting patterns of light provide an inexpensive means of consistent 3D scanning at high resolution, in real-time and from single images. The main problem of such techniques is pattern decoding or stripe indexing, which can be substantially non-trivial and difficult to overcome in a reliable way. We discuss existing techniques and show how a minimal light coding in the projected stripes can resolve inherent ambiguities found in stripe patterns across surface discontinuities. We also discuss how our real-time solution using structured near-infrared light can overcome ambient illumination and used in a variety of medical contexts.