Technology

Accordion Fringe Interferometry (AFI) is a truly revolutionary technology that extends traditional linear laser interferometry to three dimensions. It is destined to make 3D "photography" as ubiquitous and easy-to-use as traditional consumer (2D) photography. The original work on AFI was done at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory outside of Boston, MA.  MIT Lincoln Laboratory is the Federally Funded Research and Development Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). All of the MIT-developed AFI patents are exclusively licensed by MIT to DPI for all fields-of-use worldwide.

AFI employs light from two point sources to illuminate an object with an interference fringe pattern. A high precision digital camera is used to record the curvature of the fringes from a viewpoint offset from the projector. The degree of apparent fringe curvature coupled with the known geometry between the camera and laser source enable the AFI algorithms to digitize the surface of the object being scanned. AFI-based scanners record an XYZ surface point location for every pixel in the camera. The photo above shows the interference pattern created when laser light is passed through two thin slits.

AFI offers many advantages over older "white light" scanners, which are likely to establish AFI as the dominant area scanning technology for manufacturers around the world. These advantages include, but are not limited to: less sensitivity to ambient light variations, excellent ambient light noise immunity, super accurate fringe patterns, large projector depth of field, enhanced ability to scan machined (shiny) surfaces and enhanced ability to scan without targets and photogrammetry systems.

For other applications, such as intra-oral scanning, DPI's new AFI Micro will provide revolutionary real-time imaging at high accuracy.