Calibrating system for colorizing point-clouds

A method comprising:

• periodically performing a full system calibration of a measurement device that comprises a 3D scanner, a camera, and an auxiliary camera, wherein the full system calibration is performed using a first 3D point cloud, a control image, and a calibration image,
• wherein performing the full system calibration comprises:
• extracting a first plurality of features from the control image using a feature-extraction algorithm, wherein the control image is captured by the camera by capturing and stitching a plurality of images;
• extracting a second plurality of features from the calibration image using the feature-extraction algorithm, the calibration image being an ultrawide-angle image from the auxiliary camera;
• determining a set of matching features from the first plurality of features and the second plurality of features by using a feature-matching algorithm;
• building a control point test-field by using the set of matching features and the first 3D point cloud;
• and
• determining a set of system calibration parameters on-the-fly using bundle adjustment and camera self-calibration;
• and
• performing a limited system calibration of the measurement device in response to capturing a second 3D point cloud that is to be colorized, wherein the limited system calibration comprises updating a subset of system calibration parameters from the set of system calibration parameters using the second 3D point cloud and a second ultrawide-angle image from the auxiliary camera.

A computer program product comprising one or more memory devices with computer executable instructions stored thereon, the computer executable instructions when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

• periodically performing a full system calibration of a measurement device that comprises a 3D scanner, a camera, and an auxiliary camera, wherein the full system calibration is performed using a first 3D point cloud, a control image, and a calibration image,
• wherein performing the full system calibration comprises:
• extracting a first plurality of features from the control image using a feature-extraction algorithm, wherein the control image is captured by the camera by capturing and stitching a plurality of images;
• extracting a second plurality of features from the calibration image using the feature-extraction algorithm, the calibration image being an ultrawide-angle image from the auxiliary camera;
• determining a set of matching features from the first plurality of features and the second plurality of features by using a feature-matching algorithm;
• building a control point test-field by using the set of matching features and the first 3D point cloud;
• and
• determining a set of system calibration parameters on-the-fly using bundle adjustment and camera self-calibration;
• and
• performing a limited system calibration of the measurement device in response to capturing a second 3D point cloud that is to be colorized, wherein the limited system calibration comprises updating a subset of system calibration parameters from the set of system calibration parameters using the second 3D point cloud and a second ultrawide-angle image from the auxiliary camera.