System and method for the three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a thin flexible material

1 . A system for the three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a flexible material comprising:

a sample holder for supporting and bending a thin flexible material over a curvature,

a camera for capturing a plurality of profile images of a surface of the flexible material at the curvature,

a computer in communication with the camera for receiving the profile images, and programmed to extract profile height information from the profile images and produce three-dimensional data representing the surface of the flexible material.

2 . A method of three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a flexible material comprising:

bending a thin flexible material over a curvature;

capturing a plurality of profile images of a surface of the flexible material at the curvature; and

extracting profile height information from the profile images and producing three-dimensional data representing the surface of the flexible material, wherein extracting profile height information includes

analyzing the profile images to obtain lateral projection images comprising foreground and background information,

applying a threshold to the lateral projection images to separate the foreground and background information, and

extracting height information from the foreground information.

3 . A method of three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a flexible material comprising:

bending a thin flexible material over a curvature;

capturing a plurality of profile images of a surface of the flexible material at the curvature; and

extracting profile height information from the profile images and producing three-dimensional data representing the surface of the flexible material, wherein extracting profile height information includes

obtaining foreground and background information for the profile images by finding a Gaussian distribution of the profile images and using a least-squares procedure to obtain mean and variance of the Gaussian distribution,

applying a threshold to separate the foreground and background information, and

extracting height information from the foreground information.

4 . A method of three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a flexible material comprising:

bending a thin flexible material over a curvature;

capturing a plurality of profile images of a surface of the flexible material at the curvature; and

extracting profile height information from the profile images and producing three-dimensional data representing the surface of the flexible material, wherein extracting profile height information includes

finding a Gaussian distribution of the profile images,

using a least-squares procedure to obtain mean and variance of the Gaussian distribution,

applying a threshold of the form

t

=

u

1

+

u

2

+

λ

⁡

(

σ

1

-

σ

2

)

2

to obtain threshold data, and

extracting height information from the threshold data.

5 . A method of three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a flexible material comprising:

bending a thin flexible material over a curvature;

capturing a plurality of profile images of a surface of the flexible material at the curvature; and

extracting profile height information from the profile images and producing three-dimensional data representing the surface of the flexible material, wherein extracting profile height information includes calculating first and second coordinates for each point along a profile of the profile images.

6 . A method of three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a flexible material comprising:

bending a thin flexible material over a curvature;

capturing a plurality of profile images of a surface of the flexible material at the curvature; and

extracting profile height information from the profile images and producing three-dimensional data representing the surface of the flexible material, wherein extracting profile height information includes

applying an edge detection algorithm to the profile images to obtain edge detection data, and

extracting height information from the edge detection data.

7 . A method of three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a flexible material comprising:

bending a thin flexible material over a curvature;

capturing a plurality of profile images of a surface of the flexible material at the curvature; and

extracting profile height information from the profile images and producing three-dimensional data representing the surface of the flexible material, wherein extracting profile height information includes

applying an edge detection algorithm to the profile images to obtain edge detection data, wherein the edge detection algorithm includes one of a Marr method, a Sobel operator, a Robert operator, and a Laplace operator, and

extracting height information from the edge detection data.

8 . A method of three-dimensional analysis and reconstruction of the surface of a flexible material comprising:

bending a thin flexible material over a curvature;

capturing a plurality of profile images of a surface of the flexible material at the curvature; and

extracting profile height information from the profile images and producing three-dimensional data representing the surface of the flexible material, wherein extracting profile height information includes using a radon transform to obtain a gray level distribution of the profile images in a vertical direction, and extracting height information from the gray level distribution.