A cost-effective non-orthogonal 3D measurement system

A novel cost-effective non-contact 3D measurement system is proposed in this paper, which consists of two rotary tables and one laser range finder. No orthogonal accuracy between the three axes (two rotation axes and the laser axis) is required, i.e. the three parts of the sensor unit (two rotary tables and the laser range finder) need not be assembled orthogonally, which lowers the barrier to manufacture it. Time for adjustment and recalibration with non-orthogonality is also saved, compared to traditional instrument. A computing algorithm is proposed for the system to measure all the points in the measurement space, and the experiments validate that the proposed system is able to deliver relevant performance for indoor and outdoor construction measurement.