The Effect of Object Surface Colors on Terrestrial Laser Scanners

Terrestrial laser scanning systems are a relatively new measurement technology. With the advances in technology, these systems have gained more popularity and have been increasingly used in many different fields. With the terrestrial laser scanning technology, three- dimensional (3D) information and images of objects can be obtained in a more practical and easier manner and with higher accuracy compared to the conventional methods. Additionally, the measurement of an object is performed without being in physical contact. In this study, a test area of 2.10 meters ×2.80 meters in a vertical position was scanned at a 35 meters distance using different object colors (white, red, blue and green) with a Topcon laser scanner to determine the position accuracy of the scanner according to the colors. Then, by switching the Y and Z coordinates obtained from laser scanning, the test area was placed in a horizontal position, which resulted in a half rectangular prism. Then, the volume of this prism and the volumes obtained from laser scanning were calculated and compared. Based on the differences in this values, it was found that within a scanning distance of 35 meters, the position accuracy of the laser scanner varied between 5.7 mm and 12.2 mm. In addition, the best result was obtained by scanning the test area in white color.