METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CALIBRATING AN INSPECTION SYSTEM FOR MOVING VEHICLES

A method and apparatus for calibrating laser displacement sensors within a vehicle inspection system. A calibration target structure is positioned within an operative field of view for the laser displacement sensor, providing one or more optical targets onto which illuminating laser beams from the laser displacement sensor are projected. Displacement measurements are acquired with the optical targets disposed at a plurality of positions within the field of view. The resulting displacement measurements, together with known position information for the optical targets, are utilized to calibrate an associated imaging sensor such that the displacement measurements associated with each illuminating laser beam and known positional information agree to within a desired tolerance throughout the operative field of view for the laser displacement sensor.