Gap and flush measurement

A system for inline measurement of gap width and flush depth of adjacent surfaces of a vehicle, comprising:

• at least one laser profiler, each laser profiler comprising at least one laser source and at least one image sensor;
• a non-transitory computer readable memory, the memory configured to store a plurality of CAD-based predetermined target values for specific vehicle models;
• and
• a processor configured to perform within a predetermined cycle time the following:
• control the at least one laser source to project one or more laser beams onto the adjacent surfaces;
• acquire, from the at least one image sensor, one or more optical images of the one or more laser beams reflected off the adjacent surfaces;
• estimate a speed and a longitudinal position of the vehicle relative to the at least one laser profiler;
• match a gap profile from a plurality of stored one-dimensional gap profiles to the one or more optical images, the estimated speed and the estimated longitudinal position, thereby identifying a gap;
• retrieve, from the plurality of predetermined target values corresponding to the identified gap of a current vehicle model, a predetermined target value;
• perform at least one of (a) a gap width measurement and (b) a flush depth measurement for at least one of the one or more optical images;
• and
• output an anomaly detection signal if at least one of (a) the gap width measurement and (b) the flush depth measurement deviates from the predetermined target value,
• wherein the vehicle continuously moves in a longitudinal direction relative to the system.