Overview of modulation techniques for spatially structured-light 3D imaging

The modulation and projection of patterns are the cornerstones of spatially structured-light three-dimensional (3D) imaging. However, an overview of this field is lacking. This paper comprehensively reviews the modulation techniques for spatially structured-light 3D imaging. First, the frameworks and the state-of-the-art status of all the mainstream methods are introduced. Then, side-by-side comparisons are performed from different perspectives to illustrate their respective characteristics. In particular, experiments to compare the shape reconstruction quality of different methods were conducted. Beyond academic research, the applications and off-the-shelf products in the industry are reviewed. Finally, our views on the demands and trends in the field are presented.