Structured-light systems using a programmable quasi-analogue projection subsystem

This paper presents two structured-light 3D imaging systems that use a quasi-analogue projection subsystem based on a combination of digital micromirror device (DMD), optics, digital processing and calibration procedure. The first system is a high-resolution prototype that acquires 12M 3D point per frame; the second one is a high-speed prototype that generates 150 3D frames per second, with 2M 3D points per frame. The projection subsystem can produce high frame rates, high contrast and high resolution patterns using off-the-shelf components. The structured light patterns used are the same combination of binary and sine wave fringes as those usually encountered in commercial systems. The proposed systems generate the sine wave patterns using a single binary image, thereby exploiting the high frame rate of the DMD.