Optical measuring equipments. Part I: Calibration model and uncertainty estimation

• Calibration procedure for the vision subsystem of optical machines is proposed.
• Uncertainty of the calibration parameters with the Monte Carlo method is determined.
• Metrological properties of the optical equipment are characterised.
• Metrological traceability of the measurements made with optical machine is defined.

This study aims to propose and describe a procedure for calibrating the “vision subsystem” of digital optical machines, based on the affine camera model, valid for telecentric optical equipment. From this procedure, it is possible to systematise the calculation of the uncertainty of the calibration parameters associated with the “vision subsystem” by using the Monte Carlo method. The identification and characterisation of the calibration parameters of the “vision subsystem” and its associated uncertainty, obtained through this study, make it possible to characterise the metrological properties of the indicated optical equipment and ensure the metrological traceability of the measurements that have been subsequently taken.This work is divided into two parts. Part I focuses on developing a mathematical model of the “vision subsystem” and calculating the uncertainties of its parameters. Part II develops an example of measuring and calculating measurement uncertainty, based on the theoretical development of Part I.