Patent ID: 8792709

Claim:
A method for displaying geometry and imaging information using a coordinate measuring machine, the method comprising: acquiring at least one first image of at least a portion of a target area with an imaging device mounted on the coordinate measuring machine; mapping points of the first image to corresponding points in the target area using a touch probe mounted on the coordinate measuring machine such that the probe is movable with the imaging device; and processing the at least one first image and the mapped points of the first image to determine one or more calibration parameters that relates a target coordinate system associated with the target area to a first image coordinate system associated with the first image; wherein the one or more calibration parameters are identified by: designating at least one calibration target having a known positional relationship to the target area, wherein the at least one first image contains a representation of the at least one calibration target; applying a target detection operation to discern the representation of the at least one calibration target within the at least one first image based on at least one target characteristic selected from the group consisting of: shape, size, coloration, location, luminosity, brightness, and contrast, the at least one target characteristic being evaluated for at least one selected seed pixel of the first image and a search is performed to identify other pixels associated with the calibration target; associating the target's known positional relationship to the target area with the target coordinate system; and wherein the one or more calibration parameters can be applied to other points on an object measured using the touch probe mounted on the coordinate measuring machine, such that said points can be mapped to a second image distinct from the first image.