Flexible gamma calculation algorithm based on probability distribution function in digital fringe projection system

The gamma effect of phase-measuring profilometry systems yields nonlinear errors, which will substantially reduce the 3D shape measurement accuracy. Here, a robust and flexible gamma correction method based on the probability distribution function (PDF) of the wrapped phase is presented. First, a series of PDF curves are generated from the simulated wrapped phase distributions with different gamma values. Second, an experimental PDF curve will be produced after obtaining the wrapped phase from the captured three-step phase-shift fringe images. Then, a correlation procedure will be used to find the most similar PDF curve from the simulated PDF curves, and the gamma value of the matched PDF curve is that of the current system. Note that the gamma value detected by this method will be smaller than the true value due to the defocusing effect of the projection system with a large aperture. Therefore, an improved PDF-based algorithm, which projects two sets of three-step phase-shifting sinusoidal fringe patterns with different pre-coded gamma values and produces two PDF curves, is also added. Then after one more correlation procedure, a more accurate systematic gamma value could be calculated. It does not need large-step phase-shift images and 2×3 fringe images are quite enough. The experimental results show that the technique is very fast, easy to use and quite accurate.