Chairholder Profile

Denis Laurendeau

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering
Université Laval

Chair title

NSERC/Creaform Industrial Research Chair on 3-D scanning: 3-D CREATION

Chair program

Industrial Research Chairs program

Role

Senior Chairholder since 2011

Summary

Over the past few years, 3-D data-acquisition technologies have achieved major advances in terms of speed, measurement accuracy, ergonomics and versatility. This progress has opened the way for a wider variety of applications in various fields of economic and social importance to Canada. In industrial applications, what is now needed is greater flexibility for quality control processes in which several characteristics other than geometry have to be inspected. In biomedical applications, there is a pressing need for ways of combining information captured by multiple sensors. The inclusion of simulation in the process of modelling shape and appearance is a major asset, especially for developing systems for planning and monitoring medical treatments. In multimedia and entertainment applications, there is a need to link 3-D sensors with all kinds of displays in order to enrich users' experience in their interactions with these systems.

The mission of this Industrial Research Chair is to develop innovative 3-D scanning applications in areas of economic and social importance, to adapt artificial-vision measurement systems to meet users' needs, and to establish requirements for the new generations of 3-D sensors. The applications to be developed are in three main areas—industrial inspection, biometrology, and immersive multimedia. The Industrial Research Chair will build bridges between 3-D scanning specialists and experts in these areas to give them access to this technology and enable them to meet the challenges that they face in their respective disciplines.

The Chair's research program will take a holistic, integrative approach to 3-D scanning. The Chair will investigate fundamental problems of 3-D artificial vision while emphasizing the development of experimental prototypes to validate its research results and apply its theoretical solutions to practical situations. This research will be based on the expertise acquired over the past 30 years at Université Laval and will be carried out in close partnership with Creaform—a company that specializes in 3-D scanning and is especially interested in adding intelligence to its data-acquisition technologies to make them accessible to users who operate in areas of major economic importance, but have no scanning expertise. The results of this close partnership between Université Laval and Creaform, which has already been in place for a number of years, will help to maintain Canada's position as a world leader in the field of 3-D scanning.

Partner

• Creaform-AMETEK

Contact information

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering
Université Laval
1065, avenue de la médecine
Québec, Québec
G1V 0A6

Tel.: 418-656-2979
Fax: 418-656-3159
Email: denis.laurendeau@gel.ulaval.ca

Website:
 http://vision.gel.ulaval.ca