Three-dimensional surface scanning

A three-dimensional scanning system comprising:

• a three-dimensional scanning device comprising:
• a light source configured to produce a coherent beam of light that is emitted towards an object, the coherent beam of light being reflected by the object;
• a light receiving sensor configured to receive and measure the reflected coherent beam of light reflected by the object, the received reflected coherent beam of light forming a set of light measurements;
• a sensor array configured to track the three-dimensional scanning device in three-dimensional space in real-time, the sensor array comprising an inertial measuring unit for measuring and tracking movement and acceleration of the three-dimensional scanning device and a linear distance sensor for measuring a linear distance with respect to a fixed anchor point that is external to the three-dimensional scanning device;
• a transmission unit for transmitting data representing the set of light measurements from the light receiving sensor for each of a plurality of data acquisition points occurring during the movement of the three-dimensional scanning device and data representing measurements of the movement, the acceleration and the linear displacement of the three-dimensional scanning device from the sensor array;
• and a computer comprising:
• an interface for receiving the data representing the set of light measurements for each of the plurality of data acquisition points from the light receiving sensor and the data representing measurements of the movement, the acceleration and the linear displacement of the three-dimensional scanning device from the sensor array;
• a processor configured to:
• determine a position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device at each of the plurality of data acquisition points based on the movement, the acceleration and the linear displacement measured by the sensor array;
• determine an initial position and orientation of the object based on the set of light measurements at a first of the plurality of data acquisition points;
• determine a position and orientation of the object for each subsequent one of the plurality of data acquisition points based on a difference between the set of light measurements from a previous consecutive one of the plurality of data acquisition points and between the set of light measurements at the subsequent one of the plurality of data acquisition points;
• perform an error correction to the position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device at each of the plurality of data acquisition points based consecutive sets of the set of light measurements for each of the plurality of data acquisition points and the linear displacement;
• and
• generate a three-dimensional representation of the object based on the position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device and the position and orientation of the object at the plurality of data acquisition points.

A method of performing a three-dimensional scan of an object comprising:

• obtaining sets of measurements representing a surface of the object, each of the sets of measurements corresponding to one of a plurality of data acquisition points and being produced when a beam from a three-dimensional scanning device is reflected by the surface of the object at the one of the plurality of data acquisition points, the plurality of data acquisition points occurring during movement of the three-dimensional scanning device;
• obtaining an initial position and orientation of the object with respect to the three-dimensional scanning device based on a set of measurements at a first of the plurality of data acquisition points;
• measuring movement and acceleration of the three-dimensional scanning device by tracking three-dimensional movement and linear displacement with respect to a fixed anchor point that is external to the three-dimensional scanning device by a sensor array of the three-dimensional scanning device;
• determining a position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device at each of the plurality of data acquisition points based on the movement, the acceleration and the linear displacement;
• determining a position and orientation of the object for each subsequent one of the plurality of data acquisition points based on a difference between the set of measurements from a previous consecutive one of the plurality of data acquisition points and the set of measurements at the subsequent one of the plurality of data acquisition points;
• performing an error correction of the position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device at each of the plurality of data acquisition points based consecutive sets of the set of measurements for each of the plurality of data acquisition points and the linear displacement;
• and
• generating a three-dimensional representation of the object based on the position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device and the position and orientation of the object at the plurality of data acquisition points.

The three-dimensional scanning system of 26, wherein perform the error correction comprises:

• determine a difference between the position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device from two synchronized data sets at two consecutive points from the plurality of data acquisition points based on the movement and the acceleration to obtain a first displacement of the three-dimensional scanning device;
• determine a second displacement of the three-dimensional scanning device corresponding to the linear displacement from the two synchronized data sets at the two consecutive points from the plurality of data acquisition points;
• compare the first displacement and the second displacement to obtain an error in the position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device at one of the two consecutive points from the plurality of data acquisition points;
• and
• determine the error correction for the position and orientation of the three-dimensional scanning device at the one of the two consecutive points from the plurality of data acquisition points based on the comparison of the first displacement and the second displacement.