Self-calibrating wheel aligner with improved portability

A portable vehicle alignment system, comprising:

• a base;
• a substantially vertical central column rigidly attached to and supported by the base, the central column having a carriage mounted to move along a length of the central column;
• and
• a pair of camera arm assemblies, each camera arm assembly having a proximal end pivotably attached to the movable carriage, and a distal end comprising a camera pod;
• wherein a first one of the camera pods comprises a first camera for capturing image data of a first target mounted on a vehicle, and a calibration target disposed in a known relationship to the first camera;
• wherein a second one of the camera pods comprises a second camera for capturing image data of a second target mounted on the vehicle, and a calibration camera disposed in a known relationship to the second camera for capturing images of the calibration target;
• and
• wherein the camera arm assemblies are pivotable between an extended position where the first and second cameras are respectively disposed to capture image data of the first and second targets mounted on the vehicle, the calibration camera is disposed to capture images of the calibration target, and the aligner has a first width between the two camera pods, and a folded position where the aligner has a second width smaller than the first width between the camera pods.