Performance characteristics of range sensors utilizing optical triangulation

Many of the performance characteristics of triangulation sensors are obvious, but others are more subtle and do not appear to have been examined in the open literature. The authors examine these characteristics in detail. One aspect was to compare results obtained with a conventional touch trigger probe and a laser triangulation sensor when they are used in a reverse engineering situation. Another aspect involved the investigation of several optical effects which can degrade accuracy. These effects limit the ability of a triangulation sensor to make measurements when sudden changes in surface height occur, on surfaces with significant reflectance variations, and on rough surfaces