Differential 3D shape retrieval

•We present a differential three-dimensional (3-D) shape profiling.•The proposed method is based on a single-shot fringe projection.•Depth gradients can be simply computed by measuring fringes deformation.•No calibration or color coding strategies are needed.•The proposed method can help on retrieving 3D features.

We are presenting a differential three-dimensional (3-D) shape profiling method that is based on the combination of orthogonal fringe projection. It allows us to compute depth gradient maps in a fast and efficient manner. What we are demonstrating is that depth gradients can be computed in a simple way by measuring fringe deformation throughout a novel single-shot approach. We show the usefulness and potential applications of the proposed approach. Validation experiments are presented as well.