Comparative analysis of circular and linear fringe projection profilometry: from calibration to 3D reconstruction

Abstract

This study compares the accuracy of circular and linear fringe projection profilometry in the aspects of system calibration and 3D reconstruction. We introduce, what we believe to be, a novel calibration method and 3D reconstruction technique using circular and radial fringe patterns. Our approach is compared with the traditional linear phase-shifting method through several 2 × 2 experimental setups. Results indicate that our 3D reconstruction method surpasses the linear phase-shifting approach in performance, although calibration efficiency does not present a superior performance. Further analysis reveals that sensitivity and estimated phase error contribute to the relative underperformance in calibration. This paper offers insights into the potentials and limitations of circular fringe projection profilometry.