Asynchronous Active 3D Imaging
January 6, 2019
Traditional active 3D imaging systems, such as airborne and terrestrial LiDAR scanners, use a transmitter and receiver typically co-located on the same platform or connected through synchronous communications (tethered). Where, linear LiDAR imaging systems are deployed from aerial vehicles traveling at speeds of about 90 knots, an altitude of 3000 feet, collecting 8 points per meter over a swath of 3000 feet on the ground. Advanced imaging solutions such as Harris Corporations’ Geiger-mode LiDAR employ an array of sensors generating up to 204,000,000 pulses per second. Where, the Geiger-mode LiDAR employs a conical path, deployed at an altitude of 29,000 feet from an aerial vehicle traveling at 290 knots generating point densities of up to 100 points per square meter (ppsm).
Recent advances in LiDAR, detector, and airborne systems technology opened the door to small, high-performance, and significantly lower-cost alternatives to existing airborne LiDAR imaging systems. CSLabs’ proposed initiative leveraged modeling and simulation (M&S) to evaluate the efficacy of new approaches that had the potential to disrupt the existing LiDAR imaging paradigm. Candidate solutions employed low-cost LiDAR system components capable of functioning asynchronously while being deployed in bi/multi-static configurations to support existing and novel concepts of operations.