Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Prize for Martin Landmann

Jena (Germany) | May 29, 2023

Dr. Martin Landmann, scientist at the Imaging and Sensing Department at Fraunhofer IOF, was awarded the Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Prize for his dissertation on "Fast and accurate 3D shape measurement using pattern projection and stereo image recording in the thermal infrared". The innovative work serves as the basis for the world's first measurement system developed at Fraunhofer IOF that can capture transparent objects in just a few seconds: goQUALITY3D as well as its further development goROBOT3D.

Optical 3D measurement methods for detecting objects and surfaces have become increasingly important in recent years, e.g., in production engineering, medical technology, and human-machine interaction. Reflective, transparent, or black surfaces still pose a challenge, as they are very difficult or impossible to detect using conventional sensor technology. For testing purposes, such objects are therefore often coated with a matte varnish that must be removed after the measurement. This approach is unsuitable for real-time processes. As part of his dissertation, researcher Martin Landmann has now developed a measurement method that is capable of precisely measuring such non-cooperative objects in a matter of seconds.

In his PhD thesis on "Fast and accurate 3D shape measurement using pattern projection and stereo image recording in the thermal infrared", Martin Landmann describes a novel approach to measuring these non-cooperative objects using thermal pattern projection. This enables the fast and reliable measurement of objects of almost all types – including those with transparent or reflective surfaces. Landmann has now been awarded the Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Prize for this innovative measurement technique.

Novel 3D sensor technology with thermal pattern projection

The basic idea behind the 3D sensor technology with thermal pattern projection developed by Landmann is the local heating of the object surface and the acquisition of the resulting temperature distribution with thermal cameras. While in multi-fringe projection – a certain type of pattern projection – it is common to irradiate the entire measurement scene simultaneously with a multi-fringe  pattern, in the sequential single-fringe projection developed by Landmann, only one high-energy thermal infrared fringe is moved over the measurement field by means of a galvanometer scanner. The advantage of this method is the reduced influence of thermal diffusion and therewith a significantly higher temperature contrast, since the sample is irradiated locally with higher irradiance. The arrangement also allows simultaneous detection of both specular and transparent objects.

goQUALITY3D - the world's first system for the three-dimensional measurement of transparent objects

Under the coordination of Dr. Martin Landmann, a demonstrator for the three-dimensional measurement of non-cooperative objects has been realized at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF. The system is characterized by a fully automated measurement process and by a high degree of flexibility in the choice of measurement object. The so-called goQUALITY3D is the world's first system that allows all-around measurements of specular or transparent objects by means of pattern projection within a few seconds and with measurement uncertainties smaller than 100 μm. As early as 2021, the 3D infrared sensor was awarded the "inVision Top Innovation Award" for its innovative strength.

Further development goROBOT3D teaches robots to see

The measurement method offers an extremely broad range of applications for a wide variety of application scenarios. For example, first high-accuracy 3D measurements of transparent objects have already been carried out for automotive suppliers and for customers from the glass industry or medical technology as well as from the art and culture sector. A further development of the technology is the goROBOT3D system: Landmann and his team at Fraunhofer IOF succeeded in integrating the new sensor technology in a robotic application. In this way, robots or machines in automated manufacturing processes can, e.g., for the first time be enabled to detect the surface of non-cooperative objects in three dimensions in a matter of seconds and process them further.

About the Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Prize

The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Foundation annually award the Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Prize in recognition of particularly noteworthy doctoral theses in the field of optical metrology. The award is endowed with 1,500 euros. The award ceremony for the Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Prize 2023 took place on June 23 in Jena.

Learn more about the Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Werth Prize here: www.physik.uni-jena.de/fakultaetspreise