Non-contact determination of physical characteristics of an object

Abstract

A system for contactlessly determining a physical characteristic of a target article is provided. Such a system comprises a scanner unit, a detector unit and a determiner unit. The scanner unit is configured to operate according to a relative position between the target article and the scanner unit, the operation including emitting scanning radiation onto the target article and measuring interaction radiation caused by an interaction of the scanning radiation with the target article. The detector unit has one or more measuring devices configured to measure conditions that may distort the operation by the scanner unit regardless of the relative position or variations in the relative position. The determiner unit is configured to determine the physical characteristic of the target article depending on the interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit and the potential distortion conditions measured by the detector unit. A method and a computer program executable in or by the aforementioned system are also provided.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of European patent application EP22382343.6, filed April 8, 2022.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a system for contactlessly determining physical characteristics of a target item. The present disclosure further relates to a method executable in or by such a system, and to a computer program suitable for carrying out said method. [Background technology]

[0003] There exist measurement systems configured to contactlessly and non-destructively determine physical characteristics of an article of interest, such as the thickness of a multi-layer material, electrical parameters, the presence of defects, etc. Examples of defects to be detected are, for example, corrosion, improper holes, improper discontinuities, improper paint deficiencies, etc. More specifically, radiation-based techniques (e.g., terahertz techniques) have proven to be very suitable in industrial fields, such as, for example, the automotive and paint industries.

[0004] In such non-contact measurement systems, the scanner unit is typically configured to operate at a predetermined position or distance relative to the target article to be inspected. This type of measurement system may include a position or distance sensor or measurer configured to monitor the distance (or variations therein) between the scanner unit and the target article. Measurements by the scanner unit may then be corrected, discarded, resumed, etc., depending on the distance (and variations therein) measured by the position or distance sensor or measurer.

[0005] These non-contact measurement systems that monitor the relative position or distance between the scanner unit and the target article can face different challenges. The best performance of these non-contact detectors is achieved using a reference measurement and without any fluctuations in the relative position or distance between the scanner unit and the target article, which can be very difficult to achieve in a non-stop production line environment. Also, these non-contact distance sensors are capable of sensing the type of reflective surface. Furthermore, known distance detectors or measuring instruments are complex and expensive. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a novel method, system, and computer program product that aims to solve at least some of the problems mentioned above. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In one aspect, a system for contactlessly determining a physical characteristic of a target article is provided. Such a system (also named a contactless determiner herein) comprises a scanner unit, a detector unit, and a determiner unit. The scanner unit is configured to operate according to or at a relative position between the target article and the scanner unit, the operation including emitting a scanning radiation onto the target article and measuring an interaction radiation caused by an interaction of the scanning radiation with the target article. The detector unit has one or more measuring instruments or sensors configured to measure conditions that may distort the operation by the scanner unit regardless of the relative position or variations in the relative position. The determiner unit is configured to determine the physical characteristic of the target article according to the interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit and the potential distortion conditions measured by the detector unit.

[0008] Measuring potential distortion states (by the detector unit) without regard to the relative position (or its variations) means herein that said measurements are limited to quantifying physical conditions other than those that directly indicate (or reflect) the relative position or its variations. An example of a measurement that directly indicates the relative position or its variations may be a distance measurement between the scanner unit and the target article. A distance measurement directly indicates whether the relative position (necessary for the scanner to operate) is respected, overly ignored, changed or altered. An example of a measurement that does not depend on the relative position (or its variations) may be, for example, vibration, temperature, humidity, etc. that affect the target article and / or the scanner unit, which quantify physical conditions that may affect the determination of the physical characteristics, but do not measure the relative position of the scanner unit with respect to the target article. Such measurements, without regard to the relative position, may also be referred to herein as indirect (or non-distance-based) measurements. The reason for this is that these measurements may appear as indirect or environmental measurements related to the relative position, i.e., they may affect the relative position, but there is no direct measurement of the relative position. For such indirect or non-environmental or non-distance based measurements, simpler and less expensive sensors may be sufficient to detect potential distortion conditions, thus providing a more efficient non-contact determiner, at least economically. The concept of indirect measurement may also be understood herein as the estimation or acquisition of information about a variable that is not directly measured (e.g., the distance or relative position between the scanner unit and the target article).

[0009] The proposed non-contact determiner allows accurate determination of physical characteristics of the target article without using complex and expensive distance detectors. Experiments performed by the inventors have demonstrated that the proposed non-contact determiner can operate more efficiently with the same or similar reliability as prior art non-contact determiners based on distance detectors to monitor that a given relative position (of the scanner unit relative to the target article) is maintained under a certain acceptable variability. The disclosed non-contact determiner is also very cost-effective, since it avoids the use of complex and expensive non-contact distance measuring devices. Instead, such a non-contact determiner measures "environmental" conditions such as, for example, vibration, temperature, humidity, etc., that affect the scanner unit and / or the target article.

[0010] According to some embodiments, the determiner unit may be configured to determine the physical characteristics of the target article according to either a single distortion approach, or a non-alterable interaction approach, or a dual distortion approach.

[0011] The single distortion approach may include first adjusting the interaction radiation in response to a potential distortion state and then determining a physical characteristic of the target article in response to the adjusted interaction radiation. This name of the single distortion approach refers to the fact that the potential distortion state is used only once to adjust the interaction radiation and not to determine a physical characteristic in response to the adjusted interaction radiation, i.e., performed in response to the interaction radiation once adjusted in response to the potential distortion state.

[0012] The unaltered interaction approach may involve keeping the interaction radiation unaltered (i.e., measured by the scanner unit) and determining a physical characteristic of the target article in response to the unaltered interaction radiation and the potential distortion state. This name for the unaltered interaction approach refers to the fact that the interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit is kept unaltered and is used to determine the physical characteristic in further response to the potential distortion state.

[0013] A dual distortion approach may include adjusting the interaction radiation in response to a potential distortion state and determining a physical characteristic of the target article in response to both the adjusted interaction radiation and the potential distortion state. This name for the dual distortion approach refers to the fact that the potential distortion state is used twice, first adjusting the interaction radiation in response to the potential distortion state and then determining a physical characteristic of the target article in response to (the adjusted interaction radiation and also the potential distortion state).

[0014] The aforementioned technique involving the adjustment of the interaction radiation may include determining whether a portion of the measured potential distortion state is outside a threshold or range of acceptability (and thus corresponds to an unacceptable distortion), determining which portion of the interaction radiation corresponds in time (i.e., measured at the same time) to the unacceptable distortion, and discarding the portion of the interaction radiation from the adjusted interaction radiation. In other words, the interaction radiation portion or portions measured by the scanner unit under a condition or conditions considered to be excessively distorting may be discarded. The interaction radiation part or parts may be qualified as acceptable or unacceptable according to experimentally and / or theoretically predefined criteria (e.g., according to an experimentally and / or theoretically predefined threshold or range of acceptability). In this way, bad measurements of the interaction radiation may be ignored in the determination of the physical characteristic, and therefore the unacceptable distortion state may be so avoided to obtain more reliable results.

[0015] The determiner unit may be further configured to verify whether the ratio or accumulation or distribution of the discarded part or parts of the interaction radiation is outside an admissibility threshold or range and, in said case, to trigger the operation of the scanner unit to measure new interaction radiation and thus repeat the whole cycle of the non-contact determiner. In other words, if an excessive or most significant part of the interaction radiation is discarded, the whole interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit may be discarded and, in said case, the scanner unit may be triggered to restart the operation cycle of the non-contact determiner.

[0016] A technique involving adjustment of the interaction radiation may include determining whether a portion of a potential distortion state is within a threshold or range of acceptability (and thus corresponds to a tolerable distortion), determining which portion of the interaction radiation corresponds in time to the tolerable distortion (i.e., measured at the same time), and modulating the portion of the interaction radiation in response to the tolerable distortion. Such modulation may be performed by applying a correction factor or offset to said portion of the interaction radiation (occurring under the tolerable distortion) in response to the tolerable distortion. Different correction factors or offsets may be predefined in response to different expected tolerable distortions, and one of the correction factors or offsets may be selected in response to a particular tolerable distortion that is measured and thus applied to the interaction radiation occurring or measured simultaneously with the tolerable distortion. Each full or partial interaction radiation measured simultaneously with a full or partial tolerable distortion may be modulated (e.g., by using a correction factor) to a greater or lesser extent, depending on whether the simultaneously measured full or partial tolerable distortion is greater or smaller, respectively. This manner of modulating the full or partial interaction radiation may be referred to as point-to-point correction, in the sense that the differently distorted full or partial interaction radiation is modulated differently depending on how distorted it is or can be. This point-to-point correction may be performed in real-time, i.e., when the full or partial interaction radiation and the associated distortion are being measured simultaneously.

[0017] The approach involving the adjustment of the interaction radiation may include determining whether a portion of the potential distortion state is within a threshold or range of negligibility (and thus corresponds to negligible distortion), determining which portion of the interaction radiation corresponds in time to the negligible distortion (i.e., measured at the same time), and keeping the portion of the interaction radiation unchanged in the adjusted interaction radiation. The physical characteristic of the target article may then be determined in response to the unaltered interaction radiation and the potential distortion state, for example, by processing the unaltered interaction radiation based on applying a repair element or offset in response to the negligible distortion. The same or similar principles as described elsewhere in this disclosure regarding the predefined element or offset may be applied to these predefined repair elements or offsets in the case of negligible distortion. In general, in any of the approaches mentioned above (i.e., single distortion approach, unalterable interaction approach, double distortion approach), the determiner unit may determine the physical characteristic of the target article in response to the unaltered or adjusted interaction radiation and the potential distortion state by processing the unaltered or adjusted interaction radiation in response to the potential distortion state. In particular, the above processing may be based on applying restoration or correction factors or offsets depending on the underlying distortion condition.

[0018] Thus, according to any of the aforementioned approaches (i.e., single distortion approach, unalterable interaction approach, double distortion approach), the determiner unit may comprise an interaction radiation adjuster and a feature determiner. The interaction radiation adjuster may be configured to adjust the interaction radiation in response to non-negligible distortion or to keep the interaction radiation unchanged (e.g., when distortion is negligible). And, the feature determiner may be configured to determine the physical feature of the target article in response to the adjusted interaction radiation only (single distortion approach), or in response to the unaltered interaction radiation and potential distortion states (unalterable interaction approach), or in response to the adjusted interaction radiation and potential distortion states (dual distortion approach).

[0019] In some examples, the determiner unit may include a machine learning module (e.g., a neural network) that is trained or trainable on data samples (e.g., experimentally and / or theoretically determined) as input of the machine learning module, together with known features of the target article as expected output of said inputs. A large number of such input data samples that are known to generate the known features may be used to train the machine learning module. These input data samples may include (many) different combinations of interaction radiation and potential distortion states. Such different combinations may further include specification (or spec) data characterizing the target article that are known to affect the determination of the known features. The known features, each with its associated input data samples, may be used to cover the specification data characterizing the target article that are known to affect the output of the machine learning module, i.e., the determiner unit. Such characteristic data may refer, for example, to the material of the target article, the surface curvature to be scanned, the number of layers to be inspected, the type of material of the layers, etc.

[0020] Known measurements or signals output (or output) by the scanner unit and the detector unit under ideal conditions can be used as initial input data samples. Such ideal conditions can refer to measurements or signals (e.g., vibration, temperature, humidity, etc.) output (or output) by the detector unit that do not cause changes in the measurements or signals output (or output) by the scanner unit. The measurements or signals output (or output) by the detector unit can then be changed to cause a multitude of combinations of potentially distorting signals and scanner signals to different degrees. These different degrees can refer to intensities, rates of variation, etc. that may be applicable to vibration, temperature, humidity, etc. This training approach can make it possible to generate a large number of training scenarios that can operate the machine learning module (i.e., the determiner unit) very accurately and / or reliably.

[0021] The logic or criteria or rules described elsewhere in this disclosure used to determine the physical characteristics of the target article may be implemented directly or indirectly by or through the proposed machine learning module and its corresponding training. In a direct approach, the machine learning module may be trained to directly output the characteristics of the target article to be determined. Additionally or alternatively, the machine learning module may be trained to output data that intervenes in the determination of the characteristics of the target article, such as, for example, any of the thresholds, adjustments, corrections, modulations, no changes, etc. described elsewhere in this disclosure. Thus, in an indirect approach, the determiner unit may implement the logic or criteria or rules described elsewhere in this disclosure as a generator of the characteristics of the target article to be determined, using the intervening data output by the machine learning module.

[0022] A non-contact determiner according to the present disclosure may be further configured to perform training of a machine learning module, as described elsewhere in this disclosure.

[0023] The machine learning module (e.g., neural network) can be trained or trained with full, more, less, or no favorable distortion conditions covering all or a maximum number of possible, predicted, expected scenarios in the above or similar context(s). Instead of the direct and indirect approaches described elsewhere in this disclosure, the machine learning module may be trained to classify full or partial distortion conditions (or measurements / signals) as acceptable, unacceptable, negligible, etc., and / or corresponding full or partial interaction emissions (or measurements / signals) that are discarded, kept unchanged, adjusted, modulated, etc. These classifications may then be used in the determiner unit to determine the characteristics of the target article accordingly.

[0024] The one or more measuring instruments in the detector unit may include one or more vibration measuring instruments that may be associated or coupled to the target article and / or a first auxiliary system that physically interacts with the target article and / or a second auxiliary system that physically interacts with the scanner unit. Said one or more vibration measuring instruments may be configured to detect vibration conditions that are or may be included in the potential distortion conditions.

[0025] The first auxiliary system may be, for example, a support system configured to support or hold the target article. The support system may be, for example, a transport system or may be coupled to a transport system. The transport system may be configured to displace or move the target article, for example, directly or indirectly via the support system. The transport system may be configured to perform such displacement of the target article in the production line, for example, directly or indirectly via the support system. The second auxiliary system may be, for example, a positioning system configured to position the scanner unit in the target article or at a position relative to the target article. The non-contact determiner of the present disclosure may further include a first auxiliary system and / or a second auxiliary system.

[0026] The vibration measurement device may in some examples be coupled or coupleable to any element other than the support system and / or positioning system, whose vibrations may affect or distort the operation of the scanner unit with the target article. These other elements may be sufficient to accurately detect the distorted condition, in which case the vibration measurement device may be uncoupled or non-coupleable to the support and positioning systems.

[0027] The one or more measuring devices in the detector unit may include one or more temperature measuring devices that may be associated with or disposed in the vicinity of the target article and / or in the environment that includes the target article, wherein said one or more temperature measuring devices may be configured to detect a temperature condition that is or may be included in a potential distortion condition.

[0028] The one or more meters in the detector unit may include one or more humidity meters associated with or disposable in the target article and / or in the vicinity of the target article and / or in the environment including the target article, which may be configured to detect humidity conditions that are or may be included in a potential distortion condition.

[0029] In some implementations, the scanner unit may be a terahertz scanner unit. The target article may be, in some examples, a coating of a coated object, which may include one or more coating layers. The physical characteristic (determined by the corresponding non-contact determiner) may be or include a layer condition of one or more coating layers. Such a layer condition may be or include, for example, a thickness of one or more coating layers. The aforementioned thickness (determined by the corresponding non-contact determiner) may be the total thickness of the coating or the thickness of each of the layer(s) forming the coating.

[0030] Instead of or in addition to characterizing the coating (measuring layer thickness) as described above, the proposed non-contact determiner according to the present disclosure can be used to determine many other physical characteristics of the target article. These other applications can include, for example, determining electrical parameters, detecting defects, etc. Determining electrical parameters can include, for example, determining a map of electrical parameters of the target article such as a thin film, a conductivity map, etc. Detecting defects can include, for example, detecting corrosion, wear, improper holes, improper discontinuities, improper paint deficiencies, etc. in / on the target article.

[0031] In a further aspect, a method for contactlessly determining a physical characteristic of a target article is provided. Such a method (also referred to herein as a contactless determination method) includes operating a scanner unit according to a relative position between the target article and the scanner unit, the operation including emitting a scanning radiation onto the target article and measuring an interaction radiation caused by an interaction of the scanning radiation with the target article. The contactless determination method further includes operating a detector unit including one or more measuring devices for measuring conditions that may distort the operation by the scanner unit regardless of the relative position or variations in the relative position. The contactless determination method still further includes operating a determiner unit to determine a physical characteristic of the target article in response to the interaction radiation (measured by the scanner unit) and potential distortion conditions (measured by the detector unit).

[0032] In yet a further aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising program instructions for causing a system or computing system to execute a method for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target article as described elsewhere in this disclosure. The computer program may be embodied on a storage medium and / or carried on a carrier signal.

[0033] In yet a further aspect, a computing system for non-contact determining a physical characteristic of a target article is provided, the computing system comprising a memory and a processor, the computing system embodying instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor, the instructions comprising a function or functions for performing a method for non-contact determining a physical characteristic of a target article, such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0034] Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a schematic of a system for non-contact determination of physical characteristics of a target object, according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a flow chart that generally illustrates a method for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object, in accordance with an example. [Figure 3A] 1 illustrates diagrammatically radiation-based measurements taken by a scanner unit, possibly distortion measurements taken by a detector unit, and resulting actions taken by a determiner unit, according to an example. [Figure 3B] 1 illustrates diagrammatically radiation-based measurements taken by a scanner unit, possibly distortion measurements taken by a detector unit, and resulting actions taken by a determiner unit, according to an example. [Figure 3C] 1 illustrates diagrammatically radiation-based measurements taken by a scanner unit, possibly distortion measurements taken by a detector unit, and resulting actions taken by a determiner unit, according to an example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0035] Fig. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a schematic of a system for contactlessly determining a physical characteristic of an object according to an embodiment. As generally shown in the figure, such a contactless system or determiner 100 may include a scanner unit 101, a detector unit 102, and a determiner unit 103. The scanner unit 101 may be configured to operate according to a relative position or distance 111 between the object 105 and the scanner unit 101. The operation by the scanner unit 101 may include emitting a scanning radiation 107 on the object 105 and measuring an interaction radiation 108 caused by an interaction of the scanning radiation 107 with the object 105. The relative position of the scanner unit 101 with respect to the object 105 may be such that the scanning radiation 107 is emitted perpendicularly onto the object 105.

[0036] The detector unit 102 may include one or more meters or sensors 109, 110 configured to measure conditions that potentially distort the motion by the scanner unit 101 regardless of the relative position 111 (or variations thereof). The determiner unit 103 may be configured to determine a characteristic of the target article 105 depending on the interaction radiation 108 measured by the scanner unit 101 and the potential distortion conditions measured by the detector unit 102.

[0037] The scanner unit 101 may be, for example, a radiation-based scanner unit, such as a terahertz scanner unit. The target article 105 may be a coating (of a coated object) that may include one or more coating layers. In this scenario, the physical characteristic (to be determined) may be or include the layer state of the coating layer(s) forming the coating to be inspected. In particular, the layer state may be or include the thickness of the entire coating layer(s) or each of the coating layer(s).

[0038] In the particular example(s) of Fig. 1, the scanner unit 101 is shown configured to operate according to a reflection approach, i.e. the scanning radiation 107 is reflected by / at / on the target article 105, such that the interaction radiation 108 is caused by reflection. However, the scanner unit 101 may also be configured to operate according to a transmission approach, i.e. the scanning radiation 108 is transmitted by / through the target article 105, such that the interaction radiation 107 is caused by transmission. In the transmission approach, the scanning radiation 107 may be emitted from a first side relative to the target article 105 (e.g. by an emitter of the scanner unit 101) and the interaction radiation 108 may be measured on a second side (e.g. by a sensor or a measuring device of the scanner unit 101), which may be opposite to the first side. Such first and second sides may be any side relative to the target article 105 whenever the scanner unit 101 is able to measure interaction radiation 108 resulting from the transmission of scanning radiation 107 by / through the target article 105.

[0039] The non-contact determiner 100 may be configured to inspect or analyze the target article 105 according to a point approach, or a line approach, or an area approach, etc. The point or zero-dimensional approach refers to inspecting the target article 105 at / on one point of the target article 105. The line or one-dimensional approach refers to inspecting the target article 105 at / on a line of the target article 105. The area or two-dimensional approach refers to inspecting the target article 105 at / on a region of the target article 105. In the non-contact determiner 100 configured to implement the line approach or area approach, a positioning system (such as those described in other parts of this disclosure) may be configured to position the scanner unit 101 to inspect the points that match the corresponding line or region point by point. In other words, the line or area approach can be implemented by performing a point by point inspection until the line or area is completely inspected. The non-contact determiner 100 may also be configured to inspect the target article 105 at / on several points thereof which may not necessarily coincide with a line or area, but instead, the aforementioned several points inspected may be separate or distributed points of the target article 105.

[0040] Depending on the feature or features of the target article to be determined, a point, line or area approach can be used. The point approach can be used, for example, to determine the layer thickness of a coating at / on one point or points of the target article (e.g., a car body). The area approach can be used, for example, to determine a conductivity map of the target article. The area or line approach can be used, for example, to determine defect(s), such as hole(s) or gap(s) or corrosion effect(s) or other imperfection(s), which are detectable based on information of several or many points of the target article as a whole, i.e. when detection requires inspection of several or many points.

[0041] As generally shown in FIG. 1 , a non-contact determiner according to the present disclosure may include one or more measuring devices or sensors 109, 110 which may be or include vibration measuring device(s), and / or temperature measuring device(s), and / or humidity measuring device(s), and / or any type of measuring device(s) configured to monitor or quantify any “environmental” conditions that potentially affect the operation of the scanner unit 101 upon interaction with the target article 105.

[0042] The vibration sensor(s) included in the sensors 109, 110 of the detector unit 102 may be associated or coupled to the target article 105 and / or a first auxiliary system 106 that physically interacts with the target article 105 and / or a second auxiliary system 104 that physically interacts with the scanner unit 101. These one or more vibration measurers may be configured to detect vibration condition(s) that may correspond to potential strain condition(s).

[0043] The first auxiliary system 106 may be a support system configured to support or hold the target article 105. The support system 106 may be a transport system or may be coupled or coupleable to a suitable transport system configured to displace the target article, either directly or indirectly via the support system. The transport system may be included or may be included in the production line to displace the target article 105 along the production line, either directly or indirectly via the support system. Thus, the vibration sensor 109 may be located or positionable in some or each of the aforementioned support, transport, production line (etc.) parts.

[0044] The second auxiliary system may be a positioning system 104 configured to position the scanner unit 101 in a relative position (required by the scanner unit 101 to operate) with respect to the target article 105. The positioning system 104 may be a robotic system having a corresponding robotic base, robotic arm, etc. Thus, the vibration sensor 110 may be located or positionable on some or each of the aforementioned robotic components.

[0045] The temperature measuring device(s) and / or humidity measuring device(s) may be associated (or linked or coupled) or located (or arranged or placed) with the target article 105 and / or in the vicinity of the target article 105 and / or in the environment containing or surrounding the target article 105. The temperature measuring device(s) may be configured to detect temperature condition(s) that may correspond to potential distortion condition(s). The humidity measuring device(s) may be configured to detect humidity condition(s) that may correspond to potential distortion condition(s). In the particular example(s) of FIG. 1, the measuring devices 109, 110 are shown linked to the target article 105 and the scanner unit 101 or corresponding auxiliary systems 106, 104, respectively. However, the temperature and / or humidity measuring device(s) may be located at any other location(s) where temperature and / or humidity that affect the operation of the scanner unit 101 with the target article 105 may be measured.

[0046] Temperature and / or humidity measuring devices may be located or can be located as described elsewhere in this disclosure to detect environmental conditions at various locations, such as the non-contact determiner 100, the target article 105, the support and / or transport system 106, the positioning system 104, etc. Variations in temperature and / or humidity may depend on various factors, such as seasonal and daily variations, production operations (workload), line setup (proximity of heat sources), etc. Thus, the rate of variation of these variables may determine the required refresh and / or measurement period, although in principle they do not have to be measured at the same time as the measurements made by the scanner unit 101.

[0047] The scanner unit 101 and the detector unit 102 can operate simultaneously to obtain radiation-based measurements (by the scanner unit 101) and measurements quantifying potential distortion conditions (by the detector unit 102). When such two types of measurements are obtained simultaneously, the measurements obtained by the scanner unit 101 can be qualified as having been obtained under good or bad (i.e., favorable or unfavorable) distortion condition(s). As described in detail elsewhere in this disclosure, if it is determined that all or a portion of the interaction radiation was measured under negligible, acceptable or unacceptable distortion conditions, said all or a portion of the interaction radiation may be left unchanged, modulated or discarded, respectively. This determination of negligible, acceptable or unacceptable distortion conditions may be performed based on theoretically or experimentally predefined threshold(s) or range(s), as described in detail elsewhere in this disclosure, or may be output by a suitably trained machine learning module. Detailed examples of such negligible, acceptable or unacceptable distortion situations are described elsewhere in this disclosure with reference to Figures 3A-3C.

[0048] The measured potential distortion condition(s) output by the detector unit 102 may include a classification of the type and / or severity of the potential distortion condition(s). The severity may be determined, for example, by a magnitude threshold. If the magnitude is less than a certain value, no action may be applied. The discard / repeat action may be applied to different ranges, for example, to the measurement / signal (i.e., individual) level or a portion thereof, or to the measurement / signal batch (i.e., multiple measurement / signal) level of the interaction radiation.

[0049] Concerning temperature and / or humidity measurements as potential distortion state(s), they may also affect the interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit 101. In embodiments aimed at inspecting layered structures (e.g. coatings), the temperature and / or humidity magnitude(s) may also affect the determined thickness or any other characteristic(s) of the layers forming the layered structure or composition. Different temperature and / or humidity state(s) may affect the operation of the target article (under inspection) and / or the scanner unit 101. For example, the dryness state of the layer and thus the interaction of the scanning radiation with or between adjacent layers may affect the measurement value(s) calculated by the determiner unit 103. Thus, the effective layer thickness may be affected consequently, i.e. depending on the temperature and / or humidity measurement value(s). While some of the more or less environmentally sensitive components in the non-contact determiner(s) and / or in the production line(s) that contain or cooperate with the non-contact determiner(s) may be contained or be capable of being contained in climatized cabinet(s) or the like, there may be other components (e.g. measurement headers or fibers in an umbilical cable, for example) that are not or cannot be protected in this way, and therefore these other components may be subject to temperature and / or humidity as potential strain condition(s).

[0050] As used herein, the term "module" may be understood to refer to software, firmware, hardware, and / or various combinations thereof. It should be noted that the modules are exemplary. Modules may be combined, integrated, separated, and / or replicated to support various applications. Also, functions described herein as being performed by a particular module may be performed by one or more other modules and / or one or more other devices instead of, or in addition to, the functions performed by the particular described module.

[0051] The modules may be implemented across multiple devices associated or linked to corresponding methods of contactlessly determining physical characteristics of target articles as proposed herein, and / or other components that may be local or remote to each other. Furthermore, modules may be moved from one device and added to another device, and / or may be included in both devices and associated with corresponding methods of contactlessly determining physical characteristics of target articles as proposed herein. Any software implementations may be tangibly embodied in one or more storage media, such as, for example, a memory device, a floppy disk, a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), or other device capable of storing computer code.

[0052] The method for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target article according to the present disclosure can be implemented by computational means, electronic means, or a combination thereof. The computational means can be a set of instructions (e.g., a computer program), and thus the method for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target article can comprise a memory and a processor, embodying a set of said instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor. These instructions can include a function or functions for performing a corresponding method for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target article, such as the one described with reference to the other figures.

[0053] If the method for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object is implemented exclusively by electronic means, the controller of the system may be, for example, a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).

[0054] If the method for non-contact determination of physical characteristics of a target article is a combination of electronic means and computational means, the computational means may be a set of instructions (e.g., a computer program) and the electronic means may be any electronic circuitry capable of performing the corresponding steps of the method for non-contact determination of physical characteristics of a target article proposed in this specification, such as those described with reference to other figures.

[0055] The computer program(s) may be embodied on a storage medium (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD, a USB drive, computer memory, or a read-only memory) and may be carried on a carrier signal (e.g., an electrical or optical carrier signal).

[0056] The computer program(s) may be in the form of source code, object code, code intermediate source and object code, e.g. partially compiled form, or any other form suitable for use in implementing the method for non-contact determination of physical characteristics of a target article according to the present disclosure. The carrier may be any entity or device capable of carrying the computer program(s).

[0057] For example, the carrier may include a storage medium, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a semiconductor ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a hard disk. Further, the carrier may be a transmissible carrier, such as an electrical or optical signal, which may be conveyed via an electrical or optical cable or by radio or other means.

[0058] When the computer program(s) is embodied in a signal which may be conveyed directly by a cable or other device or means, the carrier may be constituted by such a cable or other device or means. Alternatively, the carrier may be an integrated circuit in which the computer program(s) is embedded, the integrated circuit being adapted for performing, or for use in performing, the method of non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of an article of interest as proposed herein.

[0059] 2 is a flow chart that generally illustrates a method for non-contact determining a physical characteristic of a target article, according to an example. As generally shown in the figure, the non-contact determination method may be initiated (e.g., at block 200) upon detection of a starting condition, such as, for example, a request to start the method or invocation of the method from an operator interface, etc. Since the non-contact determination method according to FIG. 2 may be performed by a system according to the previous figure, reference numbers from FIG. 1 may be reused in the following description of FIG. 2.

[0060] The contactless determination method may further comprise (e.g. in block 201) operating the scanner unit 101 according to a relative position 111 between the target article 105 and the scanner unit 101. The positioning system 104 may serve to position the scanner unit 101 according to the relative position 111. The aforementioned operation by the scanner unit 101 may comprise emitting a scanning radiation 107 on the target article 105 and measuring an interaction radiation 108 caused by an interaction of the scanning radiation 107 with the target article 105. This function implemented or executable in block 201 may for example be performed by the scanner unit 101 as described above with reference to FIG. 1. Thus, the functional details and considerations described for the scanner unit 101 as described above may belong or can belong to the method block 201 as well.

[0061] The non-contact determination method may still further include (e.g., in block 202) operating a detector unit 102 including one or more measuring devices 109, 110 that measure conditions that may distort the operation by the scanner unit 101 despite the relative position 111 or variations in the relative position 111. This function performed or executable in block 202 may be performed by a detector, for example, such as the detector unit 102 described above with reference to FIG. 1. Thus, the functional details and considerations described for the detector unit 102 above may belong or be able to belong to the method block 202 as well.

[0062] The non-contact determination method may still further comprise operating the determiner unit 103 (e.g. in block 203) to determine a physical characteristic of the target article 105 depending on the interaction radiation 108 measured by the scanner unit 101 and the potential distortion state measured by the detector unit 102. This functionality implemented or executable in block 203 may for example be performed by the determiner unit or module 103 described above with reference to the other figures. Thus, the functional details and considerations described for the determiner module 103 above may belong or be able to belong to the method block 203 as well.

[0063] The contactless determination method may terminate (e.g., at block 204) when an termination condition is detected, such as, for example, receiving a user request to terminate after a characteristic(s) of the target article 105 has been determined, or shutting down or deactivating the contactless determiner executing the method.

[0064] 3A to 3C show diagrammatically, according to an example, radiation-based measurements taken by the scanner unit 101, potential distortion measurements taken by the detector unit 102 and the resulting actions taken accordingly by the determiner unit 103. In these figures, measurement signals 300 to 30n, 304a to 304c simultaneously acquired by the scanner unit 101 and the detector unit 102 are shown according to two dimensions: time 302 and interaction radiation (e.g. THz) 303 for the measurement signals acquired by the scanner unit 101, and time 302 and vibration / movement (e.g. micrometers) 307 for the measurement signals acquired by the detector unit 102. The dimension 307 of the vibration / movement (e.g. micrometers) is only shown in FIG. 3C, but can be envisaged for the other FIGS. 3A and 3B as well.

[0065] For simplicity and understanding, Figs. 3A to 3C show very few measurements / signals, but in real applications, a large number of measurements / signals can be obtained, for example, to obtain more accurate and / or reliable results. In some applications, several (or many) measurements can be obtained at or from a single point or different (or many) points of the target article. In examples of obtaining several (or many) measurements of / from a single point, such measurements can be averaged such that the resulting average measurement can provide more accurate or reliable information to be used to determine the characteristics of the target article. Furthermore, if several (or many) measurements are taken, some of them can be discarded (as described elsewhere in this disclosure) while maintaining good accuracy or reliability of the information obtained from the measurements that are not discarded.

[0066] Figures 3A and 3B show three measurements (or portions or bursts or signals) of interaction radiation 300 to 30n and a single measurement / signal of a potential distortion state 304a, 304b across the three measurements / signals 300 to 30n along time 302. Figure 3C is similar to 3A and 3B, except that Figure 3C shows a single measurement / signal 300 of a measured interaction radiation. Figures 3A and 3B also show an acceptability or tolerability threshold or range 305 used by the determiner unit 103 to evaluate the measured potential distortion state 304a, 304b and actuate the measured interaction radiation(s) 300 to 30n accordingly.

[0067] In the particular example(s) of FIG. 3A, the measurement / signal 301 may be discarded (by the determiner unit 103) because it coincides in time (or was measured at the same time) with a part or portion or fragment 306 of the potential distortion state 304a that exceeds a threshold or range 305 of acceptability or acceptability. Alternatively, instead of discarding the entire measurement / signal 301, only that part of the measurement / signal 301 that is affected by the "distorted" part 306 of the potential distortion state 304a may be discarded, and the remainder of the measurement / signal 301 may be kept for subsequent processing of that measurement / signal 301. Such a decision to discard the entire or only a part of the interaction radiation measurement / signal 301 may be based on further threshold(s) or range(s) for determining whether the unacceptable distortion 306 affects the entire or a part of the interaction radiation 301, whether said effect is significant or rather negligible, etc., as described elsewhere in this disclosure. If the entire or a significant part of the interaction radiation 301 is estimated to be useless, the entire interaction radiation 301 may be discarded. Otherwise, the entirety or a significant useful portion of the interaction radiation 301 remains valid and may therefore be usable by the determiner unit 103 to determine the physical characteristic of the target article. The other measurements / signals 300, 30n are shown as examples of valid or usable measurements / signals because they were measured during the potential distortion state 304a within a threshold or range 305 of acceptability or acceptability.

[0068] In the particular case of FIG. 3B, all three interaction radiation measurements / signals 301 to 30n are shown as invalid or useless because they were measured (by the scanner unit 101) during very distorted condition(s) 304b, i.e. generally or significantly outside the threshold or range 305 of acceptability or acceptability. In this case, the scanner unit 101 may be operated to emit new scanning radiation(s) 107 and sense the corresponding interaction radiation(s) 108, in other words to resume a new operating cycle of the non-contact determiner 100, ideally under less distorted condition(s). If several operating cycles of the non-contact determiner 100 are performed with unacceptable interaction radiation measurements / signals 301 to 30n, it can be concluded that some anomaly has occurred (e.g. in the production line) that must be resolved. Once the problem(s) causing the unacceptable distortion condition(s) are resolved, the operation of the non-contact determiner 100 can be resumed, for example together with the production line.

[0069] With reference to FIG. 3C, a single interaction radiation measurement / signal 300 is shown that can be identified as occurring during an acceptable potential distortion state 304c. In this scenario, the measurement / signal 300 can then be determined to be generally acceptable and therefore usable by the determining unit 103 to draw a conclusion about the physical characteristic of the target article. This figure particularly shows how a portion 312 (within a time window 308) of the interaction radiation measurement / signal 300 can be modulated, for example by applying a corresponding correction factor or offset depending on the acceptable distortion 304c, thereby obtaining a modulated interaction radiation 309 that is used in determining the physical characteristic. FIG. 3C further shows a substantially negligible distortion state 310, in which case the measured interaction radiation 311 as occurring at the same time can be kept unchanged to determine the physical characteristic of the target article. Such a modulation or correction can be a time-based correction at the sample or measurement level. A comparison between the measured interaction radiation (dashed line) 312 and the modulated / corrected interaction radiation (solid line) 309 is shown on the right side of FIG. 3C.

[0070] As illustrated by Figures 3A to 3C, the whole or part of one or more interaction radiation measurements / signals 300 to 30n may be discarded, or may be kept unchanged, or may be modulated, or may be repeated, or any other described action may be taken, or a combination thereof, depending on the potential distortion state(s) 304a to 304c measured by the detector unit 102. In a non-contact determiner 100 intended to inspect a layered structure (e.g., a coating), for example, such action or actions taken by the determiner unit 103 may (or may not) depend on the measurement point (where the scanning radiation interacts with the target article to generate the interaction radiation), the layer definition, etc. In an embodiment in which the action(s) taken depend on the measurement point and / or layer specification, one or more acceptability or permissibility or compliance thresholds may be predefined to determine which action or actions are taken depending on such parameter(s) (i.e., the measurement point and / or layer definition). For example, the location and / or curvature of / at the measurement point may render the thickness result(s) somewhat sensitive to the strain condition(s), so the aforementioned characteristics of the article of interest at the measurement point may be considered to define the cited thresholds. Layer specifications (e.g., material type) may also require having different such thresholds.

[0071] Classification of the type of potential distortion state(s) may result in or trigger action(s) such as discarding, modulating or correcting or adjusting some or all of the data outputted and / or calculated by the scanner unit 101, keeping it unchanged (e.g., the interaction radiation 108 or intermediate data associated therewith), repeating measurement(s), generating an error or warning (e.g., to the main system or its user), etc. For example, in an embodiment intended to measure layered structure(s), such as layered coating(s), thickness correction or adjustment may be performed at the layer level, i.e., for each layer forming the layered structure or composition.

[0072] The corrective (or adjusted) characteristic function can be used by the determiner unit 103 to perform the aforementioned classification and thus trigger the actions defined above. Such an adjusted characteristic function may be determined by or based on an artificial intelligence (AI). This AI-based approach can be based on a machine learning module (e.g., neural network) such as the one(s) described in other parts of this disclosure. For example, a set of measurements can be defined or obtained, such as over several days, under different conditions. This set of measurements can be created or defined for each individual measurement point. A first reference measurement can be taken at the same point under conditions without potential distortion. These campaigns of measurements may be designed to train the AI ​​algorithm (e.g., machine learning module) to determine the action(s) to perform depending on the corresponding input.

[0073] In this disclosure, the scanner unit 101 and the detector unit 102 are described as measurers of the interaction radiation(s) 108 and potential distortion state(s), respectively, both of which are used by the determiner unit 103 to determine the physical characteristics of the target article 105. This is described in this manner for simplicity. However, the scanner unit 101 can actually generate signals (e.g., electrical signals) representing or defining the detected interaction radiation 108 that can be interpreted and processed by the determiner unit 103. Similarly, the detector unit 102 can actually generate signals (e.g., electrical signals) representing or defining the detected potential distortion state that can be interpreted and processed by the determiner unit 103. Examples of such signals are those in Figures 3A to 3C. This aspect is well known in the art, and therefore no details are provided in this disclosure.

[0074] Although one potential distortion signal is provided as an example herein, it is also possible to consider several potential distortion signals from several sensors or measuring instruments. In this multiple signal scenario, for each of the considered potential distortion signals, a modulation, correction or adjustment (e.g., based on a correction factor or offset), or no modification can be determined. These adjustments can then be applied (e.g., by an interaction radiation adjuster) to adjust the interaction radiation signal, and / or the physical characteristic of the target article can be determined (e.g., by a characteristic determiner) according to only the adjusted interaction radiation signal (single distortion approach), or according to the unaltered interaction radiation signal and the potential distortion signal (unaltered interaction approach), or according to the adjusted interaction radiation signal and the potential distortion signal (double distortion approach).

[0075] In a multiple signal scenario, a tuning characteristic function such as the one(s) described elsewhere in the description may be defined and used. The tuning characteristic function may be configured to output the vibration type(s) and corresponding action(s) to be performed depending on the input data including the various signals from the detector unit and possibly other parameters such as, for example, the measurement point specifications, the target article specifications, etc. The measurement point specifications refer to the target article point specifications emitted by the scanner unit for its inspection, such as, for example, the location of the inspected point(s), the surface curvature of the inspected point(s). The target article specifications refer to the target article specifications or characteristics that may affect the measurements performed by the scanner unit, such as, for example, the material of the target article, the number of layers inspected, the material per layer (i.e., at the layer level), etc. The tuning characteristic function may be implemented by a machine learning module, as described elsewhere in this disclosure. AI and / or blind source separation (BSS) and / or sensor fusion techniques may be applied to determine the diagnosis and corrections to make.

[0076] Thus, an example tuning characteristic function can be expressed as follows: VT,A=f(S1...Sn,MP,IS) During the ceremony, VT refers to the vibration type(s), A refers to the action(s) to be performed according to the VT, S1...Sn refer to the sensor signals output by the detector units, MP refers to the specs of the measurement point, IS refers to the specification of the item (or the specification of the target item).

[0077] The sensor signals (S1...Sn) output by the detector units may include, for example, a vibration signal, a temperature signal, a humidity signal, etc. The operation or operations may be those described elsewhere in the description.

[0078] Depending on the specifications of the measurement point and / or the target article, different threshold levels can be determined. For example, depending on the location and curvature of the measurement point, the target article may be more or less susceptible to vibration. Depending on the specifications of the target article, it may be necessary to have different thresholds. The output of the adjustment characteristic function may include a classification of the type and / or severity of, for example, potentially distorting vibration, humidity, temperature, etc. The severity of the potential distorting condition may be determined depending on a magnitude threshold. For example, if the magnitude of the potential distorting condition is within or outside a certain magnitude threshold or range, respectively, no action may be triggered or applied, or some action may be triggered or applied. Actions (e.g., discarding or repeating the measurement) may be applied at different ranges, for example, at the sample or individual or signal / measurement batch level. The final vibration type classification may terminate the action, such as discarding some or all signals or measurements from the scanner unit, repeating the measurement by the scanner unit, sending an error or warning to the general cell system, etc. Whether or not to apply a correction may depend on the severity (threshold).

[0079] In the specific case of a non-contact detector intended to measure layer thickness, the adjustment characteristic function can be expressed as follows: VT,TC=f(S1...Sn,MP,LS) During the ceremony, VT refers to the vibration type(s), TC refers to the thickness correction(s) applied according to VT, S1...Sn refer to the sensor signals from the detector units, MP refers to the measurement point, LS refers to the layer specification (or definition).

[0080] Corrections for the measured thickness may be applied at a layer level, i.e., for each layer of the multi-layer composition being inspected. Such layer-by-layer corrections can be expressed as follows: +offset_1[u] for layer 1 For layer 2 +offset_2[u] ....... +offset_n[u] for layer n

[0081] The correction applied may (or may not) depend on the specifications of the measurement point and / or the layer. Depending on the specifications of the measurement point or the layer, different threshold levels can be determined.

[0082] While only a few examples are disclosed herein, other alternatives, modifications, uses, and / or equivalents thereof are possible. Moreover, all possible combinations of the examples described are also covered. Thus, the scope of the disclosure should not be limited by the specific examples, but should be determined only by a fair reading of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A system for contactlessly determining a physical characteristic of an object, the system comprising a scanner unit, a detector unit, and a determiner unit; the scanner unit is configured to operate according to a relative position between the target article and the scanner unit, the operation including emitting scanning radiation onto the target article and measuring interaction radiation caused by an interaction of the scanning radiation with the target article; the detector unit having one or more measuring devices configured to measure conditions that may distort motion by the scanner unit regardless of the relative position or variations in the relative position; The determiner unit is configured to determine a physical characteristic of the target article in response to the interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit and the potential distortion state measured by the detector unit.

2. The determiner unit is adjusting the interaction radiation in response to the potential distortion state; and determining a physical characteristic of the target article in response to the adjusted interaction radiation; or keeping the interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit unaltered and determining a physical characteristic of the target article in response to the unaltered interaction radiation and the potential distortion state; or adjusting the interaction radiation in response to the potential distortion state; and determining a physical characteristic of the target article in response to the adjusted interaction radiation and the potential distortion state. The system for non-contact determining a physical characteristic of a target object of claim 1 , configured to determine the physical characteristic of the target object by:

3. The determiner unit is determining whether a portion of the potential distortion conditions is outside a threshold or range of acceptability and therefore corresponds to an unacceptable distortion; determining which portion of the interaction radiation corresponds in time to the unacceptable distortion; discarding a portion of the interaction radiation from the conditioned interaction radiation; and The system for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object of claim 2 , configured to modulate the interaction radiation by:

4. 4. The system for non-contact determining physical characteristics of a target object as described in claim 3, wherein the determiner unit is configured to verify whether the ratio or accumulation or distribution of the discarded part or parts of the interaction radiation is outside an acceptability threshold or range, and in said case, trigger operation of the scanner unit to measure new interaction radiation.

5. The determiner unit is determining whether a portion of the potential distortion conditions is within a threshold or range of acceptability and therefore corresponds to an acceptable distortion; determining which portion of the interaction radiation corresponds in time to the tolerable distortion; modulating a portion of the interaction radiation in response to the tolerable distortion; and 5. A system for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object according to claim 2, configured to modulate the interaction radiation by:

6. 6. The system for non-contact determining a physical characteristic of a target object as described in claim 5, wherein the determiner unit is configured to modulate a portion of the interaction radiation that corresponds in time to the tolerable distortion by applying a correction factor or offset to the portion of the interaction radiation in response to the tolerable distortion.

7. The determiner unit is determining whether a portion of the potential distortion conditions is within a negligible threshold or range and therefore corresponds to negligible distortion; determining which portion of the interaction radiation corresponds in time to the negligible distortion; retaining a portion of the interaction radiation unchanged within the adjusted interaction radiation; 7. A system for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object according to claim 2, configured to modulate the interaction radiation by:

8. 8. The system for non-contact determining a physical characteristic of a target object according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the determiner unit is configured to determine a physical characteristic of the target object in response to the unaltered or adjusted interaction radiation and the potential distortion state by processing the unaltered or adjusted interaction radiation in response to the potential distortion state.

9. 9. The system for non-contact determination of physical characteristics of a target object as described in claim 8, wherein the determiner unit is configured to process the unaltered or adjusted interaction radiation in response to the potential distortion state based on applying a restoration or correction factor or offset in response to the potential distortion state.

10. 10. The system for non-contact determining physical characteristics of a target object according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the determiner unit includes a machine learning module trained or trainable to determine physical characteristics of the target object in response to the interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit and the potential distortion state measured by the detector unit.

11. The system for non-contact determining physical characteristics of a target object as described in claim 10, wherein the training of the machine learning module is performed or is executable based on training data including all or some of the following: data of interaction radiation expected to be output by the machine learning module, data of potential distortion states, data of features defining or describing the target object, and data of physical characteristics of the target object.

12. 12. A system for non-contact determination of physical characteristics of a target object as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the one or more measuring devices include one or more vibration measuring devices that can be associated with or coupled to the target object and / or a first auxiliary system that physically interacts with the target object and / or a second auxiliary system that physically interacts with the scanner unit, and the one or more vibration measuring devices are configured to detect vibration states included in the potential distortion states.

13. The system for non-contact determination of physical characteristics of a target object of claim 12 , wherein the first auxiliary system is a support system configured to support or hold the target object.

14. 14. The system for non-contact determining physical characteristics of a target object of claim 13, wherein the support system is or is coupled to a transport system, the transport system configured to displace the target object directly or indirectly via the support system.

15. 15. The system for non-contact determining physical characteristics of a target object as described in claim 14, wherein the transport system is configured to displace the target object in a production line directly or indirectly via the support system.

16. 16. The system for non-contact determining physical characteristics of a target object according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the second auxiliary system is a positioning system configured to position the scanner unit at the relative position with respect to the target object.

17. 17. A system for non-contact determining physical characteristics of a target object as described in any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the one or more measuring devices include one or more temperature measuring devices that can be associated with or placed in the target object and / or in the vicinity of the target object and / or in an environment including the target object, and the one or more temperature measuring devices are configured to detect temperature conditions included in the potential distortion states.

18. 18. A system for non-contact determining physical characteristics of a target object as described in any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the one or more measuring devices include one or more humidity measuring devices that can be associated with or placed in the target object and / or in the vicinity of the target object and / or in an environment including the target object, and the one or more humidity measuring devices are configured to detect humidity conditions included in the potential distortion state.

19. 19. The system for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the scanner unit is a terahertz scanner unit.

20. 20. The system for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the target object is a coating on a coated object.

21. 21. The system for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target article of claim 20, wherein the coating of the coated object comprises one or more coating layers.

22. 22. The system for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object of claim 21, wherein the physical characteristic is or includes a layer condition of the one or more coating layers.

23. 23. The system for non-contact determining a physical characteristic of a target object of claim 22, wherein the layer condition is or includes a thickness of the one or more coating layers.

24. 1. A method for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of an object, the method comprising: operating the scanner unit according to a relative position between the target article and the scanner unit, the operating comprising: emitting scanning radiation onto the target article; and measuring interaction radiation caused by an interaction of the scanning radiation with the target article; operating a detector unit including one or more measuring devices that measure conditions that may distort motion by the scanner unit regardless of the relative position or variations in the relative position; and operating an determiner unit to determine a physical characteristic of the target article in response to the interaction radiation measured by the scanner unit and the potential distortion state measured by the detector unit.

25. 25. A computer program comprising program instructions for causing a computing system to carry out the method of claim 24 for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target article.

26. 26. A computer program according to claim 25 embodied on a storage medium.

27. 26. A computer program as claimed in claim 25, carried on a carrier signal.

28. 25. A computing system for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object, the computing system comprising a memory and a processor, the computing system embodying instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor, the instructions comprising: a function to perform the method of claim 24 for non-contact determination of a physical characteristic of a target object.

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