Event-based structured light systems have recently been introduced as an exciting alternative to conventional frame-based triangulation systems for the 3D measurements of diffuse surfaces. Important benefits include the fast capture speed and the high dynamic range provided by the used event camera - albeit at the cost of increased noise. So far, both low-accuracy event-based and high-accuracy frame-based 3D imaging systems are tailored to a specific surface type, such as diffuse or specular, and can not be used for a broader class of object surfaces (“mixed reflectance scenes"). In this research track, we present a novel event-based structured light system that enables fast 3D imaging of mixed reflectance scenes with high accuracy. We decompose the measured signals into diffuse, two-bounce specular, and other multi-bounce reflections. The diffuse surfaces in the scene are reconstructed using triangulation. Then, the reconstructed diffuse scene parts are leveraged as a ”display" to evaluate the specular scene parts via deflectometry.

This novel procedure allows us to use the entire scene as a virtual screen, using only a scanning laser and an event camera. The resulting system achieves fast and motion-robust reconstructions of mixed reflectance scenes with high accuracy. Moreover, we demonstrate an ”ultrafast" capture mode (250Hz) for the 3D measurement of diffuse scenes.