Like traditional vision systems, laser based 3D measurement is a non-contacting technology and therefore works with soft or sticky products while remaining sanitary.
Unlike traditional vision systems, laser measurements can generate true height profiles or volume measurements to add a quantitative 3rd dimension. For example, consider a bread pan filling application:
A traditional vision system may have trouble distinguishing dough from the pan and cannot determine how tall the dough ball might be. On the other hand a laser profile system can directly determine whether the dough ball is absent, correctly sized or oversized.