Three-dimensional (3D) imaging applications are used in many different industries ranging from both industrial pick and place, palletization/depalletization, warehouse, robotics and metrology applications to consumer-based products such as drones, safety and security, and patient monitoring applications. No one specific type of 3D technology can solve all these different types of applications and the features of each must be compared as to their suitability for each application.
3D imaging systems can be classified into both passive and active systems. In passive systems, ambient or broad fixed illumination is used to illuminate the object. Alternatively, active systems use various methods of spatially or temporally modulating light including laser line scanning, speckle projection, fringe pattern projection, or time of flight (ToF) scan 3D objects. In both passive and active 3D imaging systems, reflected light from the object being illuminated is captured, often by a CMOS-based camera, to generate a depth map of the structure and then, if required, a 3D model of the object.