A new two-step phase-shifting fringe projection profilometry is proposed. The slowly variable background intensity of fringe patterns is removed by the use of an intensity differential algorithm. The high-resolution differential algorithm is achieved based on global interpolation of fringe gray level on a subpixel scale. Compared with the traditional three- or four-step phase-shifting method, the profile measurement is sped up with this approach. Computer simulation and experimental performance are evaluated to demonstrate the validity of the proposed measurement method. The experimental results compared with those of the four-step phase-shifting method are presented.

In the acceptance of new bridges and the health monitoring of bridges in service, the deflection is usually considered as the basic parameter that must be measured because it is closely related to the bearing capacity of bridges. The existing bridge deflection measurement methods mainly rely on displacement transducers, dial gauges, connecting pipes, precision levels, digital levels, inclinometers, total stations, microwave radars, global positioning system (GPS), and other measuring equipment, as shown in Fig. 1. Table 1 introduces the typical application scenarios, advantages, and limitations of these deflection measurement methods. It can be seen from Table 1 that the traditional contact measurement methods have certain limitations, which is difficult to achieve dynamic deflection measurement and meet the engineering requirements of real-time measurement and long-term monitoring. In addition, although the accelerometer can also measure the dynamic deflection of the bridge, it has a large error by integrating the acceleration twice to obtain the displacement.^1,2

Camera calibration is crucial to the application of binocular measurement. However, many of the calibrations are carried out manually, so shaking of the calibration plate cannot be avoided. When the cameras are not synchronized or the exposure time is inconsistent, the image acquisition time of different cameras does not correspond strictly, which will introduce inevitable calibration errors. In this paper, two consecutive frames are collected instead of one frame, and the calibration data are corrected by the image acquisition time value returned by the camera. Experiments show that the proposed method can greatly reduce the re-projection error of calibration, and achieve higher calibration accuracy and less image quantity dependence.

<!-- *** Custom HTML *** --> Measuring surface deformation of objects with natural patterns using digital image correlation (DIC) is difficult due to the challenges of the pattern quality and discriminative pattern matching. Existing studies in DIC predominantly focus on the artificial speckle patterns while seldom paying attention to the inevitable natural texture patterns. We propose a recursive-iterative method based on salient features to measure the deformation of objects with natural patterns. The method is proposed to select salient features according to the local intensity gradient and then to compute their displacements by incorporating the inverse compositional Gauss–Newton (IC-GN) algorithm into the classic image pyramidal computation. Compared with the existing IC-GN-based DIC technology, the use of discriminative subsets allows avoidance of displacement computation at pixels with poor spatial gradient distribution. Furthermore, the recursive computation based on the image pyramid can estimate the displacements of the features without the need for initial value estimation. This method remains effective even for large displacement measurements. The results of simulation and experiment prove the method’s feasibility, demonstrating that the method is effective in deformation measurement based on natural texture patterns.

A dual-biprism-based stereo camera system, with an imaging model derived from geometrical optics analysis, is proposed for detection of defects on the external and internal surfaces of pipelines. The proposed system, which comprises two biprisms, a lens, a single camera, and common light sources, overcomes the difference in the camera specifications and synchronization mechanism of conventional two-camera systems. Moreover, different fields of views can be obtained by adjusting the angles of the two prisms and the distance between the dual-biprism and the camera. Measurements can be made even for regions in narrow and small areas using a coaxial illumination and speckle-based three-dimensional digital image correlation method. After a typical experiment performed to verify the efficacy of the proposed system, three different types of defects were accurately detected: (1) a local indentation on the external pipe wall; (2) a weld defect in the pipeline that was measured, and the shape and location retrieved after image processing; and (3) a crack on the internal surface of the pipe determined based on strain calculation. These results validate the proposed system as an efficient and convenient tool for defect detection.

A panoramic dual-directional shearography system is proposed to simultaneously determine out-of-plane deformation derivatives in two directions and globally inspect the object to be tested. A dichroic filter (DF), a 3CCD camera, and dual-wavelength light are used in the proposed shearography configuration. The dual-wavelength light coupled with the corresponding imaging sensors of the 3CCD camera provides independent color signals and shearograms. Through adjustment of the tilted stereo-angle of the DF, which offers a second wavelength-dependent measurement, an additional independent image-shearing can be introduced into the setup. The auxiliary bi-mirror surrounding the object helps to fully illuminate the object surface and capture it in a single shot. Theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrated the utility of the system.