Error Characterization of Laser Scanner-based Metrology for Large Reflector Antennas: Effects of Tilt and Measurement Noise
Loading...
Files
Size: 656.24 KB, File format: Adobe PDF
Date
Authors
Rasha, Asif
Natusch, Tim
Gulyaev, Sergei
Supervisor
Item type
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Abstract
Terrestrial laser scanners (LS) are increasingly applied in large-reflector antenna metrology, but the impact of LS tilt, two-face calibration, and intrinsic random noise has not been quantitatively assessed. This paper presents the first systematic characterization of these error sources for LS-based reflector measurement. A controlled laboratory experiment with nine FARO spheres scanned between 0° and 80° revealed a small linear dependence of baseline residuals on the tilt angle (≈0.005 mm/degree). Two-face measurements confirmed calibration stability under tilt, with differences ≤ 0.5 mm (1σ). Monte Carlo propagation of range and angular noise introduced an additional 0.1–0.2 mm (1σ) variability in surface RMS. These contributions were combined into an uncertainty budget according to the guidelines of GUM, resulting in a combined standard uncertainty of 0.65 mm (1σ) and an expanded uncertainty (k = 2) of 1.3 mm. These results establish quantitative limits on LS-induced error under significant tilt and demonstrate that LS-based metrology remains robust for large-reflector applications, providing a basis for assessing electromagnetic performance.
Description
Keywords
0299 Other Physical Sciences, 0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, 4006 Communications engineering, 4008 Electrical engineering, 4009 Electronics, sensors and digital hardware
Source
IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, ISSN: 0018-9456 (Print); 1557-9662 (Online), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 1-1. doi: 10.1109/tim.2026.3704228
Publisher's version
Rights statement
This is the Authors' Accepted Manuscript of an article in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement © 2026, IEEE. The publisher's version is available at doi: 10.1109/tim.2026.3704228