Lens distortion elimination for improving measurement accuracy of fringe projection profilometry

Fringe projection profilometry (FPP) is a powerful method for three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement. However, the measurement accuracy of the existing FPP is often hindered by the distortion of the lens used in FPP. In this paper, a simple and efficient method is presented to overcome this problem. First, the FPP system is calibrated as a stereovision system. Then, the camera lens distortion is eliminated by correcting the captured images. For the projector lens distortion, distorted fringe patterns are generated according to the lens distortion model. With these distorted fringe patterns, the projector can project undistorted fringe patterns, which means that the projector lens distortion is eliminated. Experimental results show that the proposed method can successfully eliminate the lens distortions of FPP and therefore improves its measurement accuracy.