RoboScan: an automatic system for accurate and unattended 3D scanning

We describe an automatic system for fast unattended acquisition of accurate and complete 3D models, called RoboScan. The design goal is to reduce the three main bottlenecks in human-assisted 3D scanning: the selection of the range maps to be taken (view planning), the positioning of the scanner in the environment, and the range maps' alignment. The system is designed around a commercial laser-based 3D scanner moved by a robotic arm. The acquisition session is organised in two stages. First, an initial sampling of the surface is performed by the automatic selection of a set of views. Then, some added views are automatically selected, acquired and merged to the initial set in order to fill the surface regions left unsampled. Both the initial set of range maps and the subsequently added ones are post-processed automatically, by using the known scanner positions to initialise the alignment phase. Results of the assessment of the system on real acquisitions are presented and discussed.