Point Cloud as Imaging Effect in Coordinate Optical Measurement—A New Method for Evaluating Measurement Accuracy (OPTI‐U)

The article presents extremely current issues concerning imaging and measurements carried out using coordinate optical systems in which the result of scanning spatial objects is a point cloud. What is important, the entire accuracy assessment of the conducted fast, effective coordinate measurement nowadays takes place in the computational area, beyond direct sensory percep-tion, and depends increasingly on its power and the computational algorithms used. Further-more, we are getting closer and closer to recognising virtual standards in coordinate metrology as a direction that allows for an increase in measurement accuracy. Especially in recent years, the importance of the problem has been confirmed by the activities of the most significant scientific and research centres. They focus on improving the accuracy of the data obtained in the form of point clouds, using more precise scanning methods for this purpose, and developing filtering algorithms to remove noise, including methods using artificial intelligence. Based on many years of research, the authors identified a problem regarding the difficulty in developing data obtained from optical systems, such as laser triangulation head systems, systems operating on the principle of structural light, photogrammetric systems, as well as computer tomographs, and the impact of these systems on the assessment of measurement accuracy. Therefore, the optical measurement process was analysed in terms of the quality of the acquired point clouds. The authors presented the division of factors, which, in coordinate optical meas-urements, generate errors in data acquisition and development. The authors also indicated which of these factors generate the most significant errors and, above all, emphasised the impact of the software used, the measurement operator, and the methods of cloud filtration applied by the operator. Therefore, the accuracy assessment of the optical measurement has been noted as a critical problem, and so far, it has not been solved effectively. In the article, as a solution to this problem, the authors proposed the OPTI-U method of estimating uncertainty for optical meas-urements. The method, what is very important, was developed and verified under the conditions of an accredited calibration laboratory. The summary also gives directions for further work on developing and disseminating the developed method, particularly introducing virtual standards.