Nano-level 3-D shape measurement system using 3-wavelength LED light interference fringes

Precision weak gravitational lensing experiments require measurements of galaxy shapes accurate to <1 part in 1000. We investigate measurement biases, noted by Voigt & Bridle and Melchior et al., that are common to shape measurement methodologies that rely upon fitting elliptical-isophote galaxy models to observed data. The first bias arises when the true galaxy shapes do not match the models being fit. We show that this ‘underfitting bias’ is due, at root, to these methods' attempts to use information at high spatial frequencies that have been destroyed by the convolution with the point spread function (PSF) and/or by sampling. We propose a new shape-measurement technique that is explicitly confined to observable regions of k-space. A second bias arises for galaxies whose ellipticity varies with radius. For most shape-measurement methods, such galaxies are subject to ‘ellipticity gradient bias’. We show how to reduce such biases by factors of 20–100 within the new shape-measurement method. The resulting shear estimator has multiplicative errors <1 part in 103 for high signal-to-noise ratio images, even for highly asymmetric galaxies. Without any training or recalibration, the new method obtains Q= 3000 in the GREAT08 Challenge of blind shear reconstruction on low-noise galaxies, several times better than any previous method.

In this paper, we extend the Bayesian model fitting shape measurement method presented in Miller et al., and use the method to estimate the shear from the Shear TEsting Programme simulations (STEP). The method uses a fast model fitting algorithm that uses realistic galaxy profiles and analytically marginalizes over the position and amplitude of the model by doing the model fitting in Fourier space. This is used to find the full posterior probability in ellipticity. The shear is then estimated in a Bayesian way from this posterior probability surface. The Bayesian estimation allows measurement bias arising from the presence of random noise to be removed. In this paper, we introduce an iterative algorithm that can be used to estimate the intrinsic ellipticity prior and show that this is accurate and stable. We present results using the STEP parametrization that relates the input shear γT to the estimated shear γM by introducing a bias m and an offset c: γM−γT=mγT+c. The average number density of galaxies used in the STEP1 analysis was 9 per square arcminute, for STEP2 the number density was 30 per square arcminute. By using the method to estimate the shear from the STEP1 simulations we find the method to have a shear bias of m= 0.006 ± 0.005 and a variation in shear offset with point spread function type of σc= 0.0002. Using the method to estimate the shear from the STEP2 simulations we find that the shear bias and offset are m= 0.002 ± 0.016 and c=−0.0007 ± 0.0006, respectively. In addition, we find that the bias and offset are stable to changes in the magnitude and size of the galaxies. Such biases should yield any cosmological constraints from future weak lensing surveys robust to systematic effects in shape measurement. Finally, we present an alternative to the STEP parametrization by using a quality factor that relates the intrinsic shear variance in a simulation to the variance in shear that is measured and show that the method presented has an average of Q ≳ 100 which is at least a factor of 10 times better than other shape measurement methods.

Conventional three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement methods are typically generic to all types of objects. Yet, for many measurement conditions, such a level of generality is inessential when having the preknowledge of the object geometry. This paper introduces a novel adaptive algorithm for absolute 3D shape measurement with the assistance of the object computer-aided-design (CAD) model. The proposed algorithm includes the following major steps: (1)export the 3D point cloud data from the CAD model; (2)transform the CAD model into the camera perspective; (3)obtain a wrapped phase map from three phase-shifted fringe images; and (4)retrieve absolute phase and 3D geometry assisted by the CAD model. We demonstrate that if object CAD models are available, such an algorithm is efficient in recovering absolute 3D geometries of both simple and complex objects with only three phase-shifted fringe images.

Noncontacting shape measurement for 3-D objects is important in automated manufacturing, component quality control, reverse engineering, etc. Phase-shifting method effectively attains high resolution and high accuracy in analyzing phase information on a projected grating. This technique, however, is difficult to be applied to dynamic condition since usually it requires several images. We developed a digital micromirror device (DMD) camera for phase analysis. In this paper, an one-shot shape and deformation measurement method using a DMD camera is proposed. The DMD camera consists of a DMD, a CCD, and two imaging lenses. In optics of the DMD camera, individual DMD mirrors correspond to individual CCD pixels. The DMD on-off binary pattern can be changed more than 6900 times in one second using an accessory light modulator package (ALP) controller board. Individual DMD mirrors operate as controllable high-speed shutters for corresponding CCD pixels. The four phase-shifted images can be recorded within one frame of the CCD camera. Therefore, shape measurement in dynamic condition can be realized without using a high-speed camera. In order to obtain the 3-D information of shape, multiple reference planes are used to calibrate the relationship between phase value and 3D coordinates. The principle and hardware are presented. In an experiment under dynamic condition, 3D shape information can be analyzed from only one captured image.

Fringe projection profilometry (FPP) is a three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement method that involves projecting fringe patterns onto the object. A phase map retrieved from these fringe images is used for reconstructing the 3D surface of the object. Fourier transform and phase-shifting are two of the widely used fringe analysis techniques for performing 3D shape measurement using FPP. Fourier transform profilometry (FTP) has the advantage of performing high-speed measurement due to its single-shot nature. However, the reconstructed 3D surface has artifacts and high noise, specifically on the edges. On the other hand, phase-shifting profilometry (PSP) has the advantage of higher accuracy (relatively less noise level) but compromises on measurement speed. In this research, we propose a deep learning method to enhance the quality of the FTP phase maps using an efficient deep learning model called phase map enhancement net (PMENet). PMENet takes an FTP phase map as input and predicts a high-quality phase map in a supervised manner by using the phase maps obtained from 18-step PSP as ground truth. The training dataset was generated using a virtual FPP system. Validations were conducted on both the simulated data (generated by virtual FPP system) and the real-world data. The experimental results demonstrate that the trained neural network model can successfully improve the quality of the 3D geometric reconstruction with FTP and reduced the mean and root-mean-square error by 66% and 43%, respectively.

On axis fringe projection: A new method for shape measurement

Binary coding methods have been widely used for three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement. However, traditional binary coding methods always require a sequence of binary patterns to encode the fringe order. This paper presents a spatial-temporal binary coding (STBC) method for 3D shape measurement with three binary patterns, including a spatial pattern and two temporal patterns. Specifically, the spatial pattern is used to encode a 4-bit spatial code, and the temporal patterns are used to encode the 2-bit temporal code. By combining the spatial code and the temporal code, 6-bit code words can be obtained that distinguish 26=64 fringe periods of sinusoidal phase-shifting patterns. A robust dual-region labeling decoding scheme is also developed to extract the 6-bit code word for fringe order determination, and then absolute-phase unwrapping can be carried out. Experiments have been conducted, and their results confirm that the STBC method can reliably reconstruct the 3D shapes of measured objects with only three binary patterns.

Three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement of fringe projection profilometry (FPP) with high speed and accuracy is required in many applications. The measurement speed of FPP system is mainly limited by the low frame rate of pattern projection. Although defocusing binary patterns can be used to increase the measurement speed greatly, it will decrease the measurement depth. To this end, a novel triangular pattern generation method is proposed in this paper. By designing and projecting binary strip patterns with focused projector, images of triangular patterns can be then acquired with high frame rate. Fast and accurate 3D shape measurement can be finally obtained by using phase-shifting triangular patterns. Compared with the traditional sinusoidal patterns, the proposed method can improve the projection rate more than 4 times. Moreover, the proposed method will not decrease the measurement depth. Experimental results are given to confirm the validity of the proposed method.

System calibration, which usually involves complicated and time-consuming procedures, is crucial for any 3-D shape measurement system. In this work, a novel systematic method is proposed for accurate and quick calibration of a 3-D shape measurement system we developed based on a structured light technique. The key concept is to enable the projector to "capture" images like a camera, thus making the calibration of a projector the same as that of a camera. With this new concept, the calibration of structured light systems becomes essentially the same as the calibration of traditional stereovision systems, which is well established. The calibration method is fast, robust, and accurate. It significantly simplifies the calibration and recalibration procedures of structured light systems. This work describes the principle of the proposed method and presents some experimental results that demonstrate its performance.

The phase-coding method has been widely used for 3D shape measurement, which uses sinusoidal phase-shifting patterns to recover the wrapped phase and the stair phase-coding patterns to determine the fringe order. However, due to random noises and image blurring, the fringe order is always misaligned with the wrapped phase, which will lead to fringe order errors. This paper presents an enhanced phase-coding method to address this misalignment problem by using half-period codewords, in which each codeword is aligned to the half-period of the sinusoidal patterns. Then, two complementary fringe orders with half-period dislocation can be calculated, which can effectively eliminate the fringe order errors. To extend the coding range of stair phase, this paper further develops a computational scheme based on the geometric constraint method. Simulations and experiments have been carried out, and their results confirm that the enhanced method can reliably recover the 3D shape of the measured objects.

In order to provide psychotherapists with an objective criterion for evaluating client's mental states, this paper proposes a method for analyzing a drawing that a client makes in drawing therapy for four psychological primary colors. The method consists of two steps: an image segmentation step and a color analysis step. In the first step, those areas which seem what the client intended to depict are extracted from the entire digitized image. The effective resolution in the extraction is made variable with the values of parameters in mathematically morphological processing. In the second step, the pixels of the extracted areas are classified into four categories, corresponding to the psychological primary colors, as determined by the dominant component of a pixel color. A case study of employing the color analyses in drawing therapy was carried out with a series of drawings which were obtained in an actual clinical therapy. A comparison of the objective results of the analysis and subjective evaluations obtained in the process of cognitive behavioral therapy has demonstrated that the analyses are useful to describe a variation in a client's mental state in terms of psychological properties of colors. In conclusion, the color analysis method in drawing therapy works in cooperation with cognitive behavioral therapy.

This paper describes a system for automatically sketching patterns on the surface of porcelain. For the implementation of sketching on porcelain, we propose a sketching method which uses the numerical control data output from the CAD system. This system comprises two parts. One is a measurement system for the three-dimensional shape of the porcelain piece using the Slit-Light Method, and the other is an automatic pattern sketching system. Since porcelain pieces are classified into two types according to their shape, two three-dimensional measurement systems are developed. For these measurement systems, we propose a method for calculating the values of three-dimensional coordinates in a simple and fast manner. In the sketching system, the sketching is performed with numerical control. The data for the numerical control used for sketching patterns onto the porcelain are generated using the results measured by the measurement system and CAD system.Experimental results of sketching on porcelain using the numerical control data show that the system is effective.

The non-enzymatic browning of pine bark during thermal treatment: Color and chemical changes, color kinetics and insights into mechanisms

Despite the availability of various Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) for measuring other particle properties, their inherit limitations for the measurement of crystal shape have been restricted. This has impacted, in turn, on the development and implementation of optimisation, monitoring and control of crystal shape and size distributions within particle formulation and processing systems In recent years, imaging systems have shown to be a very promising PAT technique for the measurement of crystal growth, but still essentially limited as a technique only to provide two-dimensional information. The idea of using two synchronized cameras to obtain 3D crystal shape was mentioned previously (Chem Eng Sci 63(5) 1171–1184, 2008) but no quantitative results were reported. In this paper, a methodology which can directly image the full three-dimensional shape of crystals has been developed. It is based on the mathematical principle that if the two-dimensional images of an object are obtained from two different angles, the full three-dimensional crystal shape can be reconstructed. A proof of concept study has been carried out to demonstrate the potentials in using the system for the three-dimensional measurement of crystals.

The paper presents a method for the surface shape and strain measurement applied in the determination of metal flow and product quality. Accurate determination of these characteristics in the sheet metal forming operation is extremely important, especially in automotive applications. However, the sheet metal forming is a very complex manufacturing process, and its success depends on many factors. This involves a number of tests that should be carried out to find optimal, yet cost-effective solutions. In this study the author discusses the investigations that are focused on better understanding of the strain values and their distribution in a product, and checking if they do not exceed certain limit resulting in the loss of stability. The hydraulic bulge test was identified as a method most applicable in these investigations, where both theoretical and experimental analysis was conducted. First, the presented solution in the field of reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) objects significantly expands the capabilities of the analysis, compared with the solutions existing so far. Second, a new method for the 3-dimensional geometry and strain measurement based on laser scanning technique is presented. Next, the image acquisition process and digital image correlation (DIC) are presented to recognize and analyze the objects taken from camera. The 3D shape and strain analysis presented in this paper offers a valuable tool in the metal products quality control, along with a complete testing equipment for maximum strain calculation just before cracking. The computer measurement system is directly connected to the hydraulic bulge test apparatus, thus providing fast and accurate results for material testing and process analysis.