A novel image sensor for raised characters based on structured‐light

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel image sensor technology for raised characters based on line structured‐light. It can convert raised character's three‐dimensional (3D) features into image's grayscale levels.

Design/methodology/approach

The measurement principle and mathematical model are described. An experimental device is established and system parameters are calibrated. A grayscale conversion algorithm is proposed to convert the distortion of laser stripe to the grayscale intensity of image. The article also introduces a four‐factor method to assess the image quality of characters.

Findings

Experimental results show that the method can get high‐contrast images of raised characters that are conventionally low‐contrast with the background. Besides, the method does not need complicated calibration and mass computation, which makes the system structure simple and increases the speed of image acquisition.

Originality/value

The paper presents a novel image acquisition method for raised characters.

Citation

Li, X., Lu, C., Xiao, R., Zhang, J. and Ding, J. (2013), "A novel image sensor for raised characters based on structured‐light", Sensor Review, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 134-140. https://doi.org/10.1108/02602281311299671