3DUNDERWORLD-SLS: An Open-Source Structured-Light Scanning System for Rapid Geometry Acquisition

Abstract: Recently, there has been an increase in the demand of virtual 3D objects representing real-life objects. A plethora of methods and systems have already been proposed for the acquisition of the geometry of real-life objects ranging from those which employ active sensor technology, passive sensor technology or a combination of various techniques. In this paper we present the development of a 3D scanning system which is based on the principle of structured-light, without having particular requirements for specialized equipment. We discuss the intrinsic details and inherent difficulties of structured-light scanning techniques and present our solutions. Finally, we introduce our open-source scanning software system "3DUNDERWORLD-SLS" which implements the proposed techniques both in CPU and GPU. We have performed extensive testing with a wide range of models and report the results. Furthermore, we present a comprehensive evaluation of the system and a comparison with a high-end commercial 3D scanner.