Innovations in dimensional metrology

Every day, new products appear on the market. In order to meet the high quality standards that are expected nowadays by customers, reliable measurements with good accuracy are essential. This fuels a continuous demand for innovations in the field of dimensional metrology, the measurement of shape, size and position. Improvements have been made on various fronts : reliability, speed, range and accuracy. Partly, these innovations are realized by the improvement of existing techniques. But we also see the emergence of completely new measurement principles. To provide an overview of the most recent developments, a one-day symposium was organized on 5 February 2009 under the title “Innovations in Dimensional Metrology”. What better location to hold such a symposium than at the Dutch national metrology institute VSL in Delft, the Netherlands?