Uncertainty in optical measurement applications: A case study

The uncertainty related to a measurement is at least as important as the measurement itself. Apart from being able to determine intervals of confidence around the final result within which the true measurement value is expected to lie at a certain level of confidence, the rigorous treatment of uncertainty throughout an algorithm allows increasing its robustness against disturbing influences and judging its applicability to a given task. This paper addresses the propagation of uncertainty within a quality control application using image-based sensors. Simulations and real-world results are provided to show the applicability of the proposed application.