Laser Tracker and Digital Photogrammetry's Merged Process for Large Scale Rapid Scanning

Aircraft factories today must increase their speed of measurement and manufacturing operations, to remain competitive in the ever expanding global Partner/Supplier environment. Reducing the time required, for data collection and analysis, will increase the implementation of metrology solutions in our collectively networked factories. For aircraft, the challenge is to measure very large areas rapidly, receive near real time feedback, with minimal impact to the production schedule. Several different types of metrology equipment can measure large structures. Combining the strength of two different systems, laser tracker and Digital Photogrammetry, has increased the speed and volume of data collection. The speed and accuracy improvement is achieved by integrating the laser tracker's interferometer for precise distance and scaling calculations, and photogrammetry's rapid large area measurement capabilities. This paper illustrates a simple and complete guide, to fully automate Laser Tracker, Laser Radar, and Digital Photogrammetry, networked together, for Large Area Rapid Scanning (LARS). This combined metrology system, can measure 30 square meters (270 square feet), to within .020 of a millimeter, (.008 of an inch), in all three axis (X Y & Z), in 6 minutes. The three inspection points (per square inch point density) is made possible by accelerating Digital Photogrammetry to a rapid scanner level.