Abstract

A 3-D imaging sensor concept has been developed and implemented that provides a direct digital (x,y,z) readout on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The sensor uses a modulated laser source which is scanned (x,y) to form a range (z) image—range and range sensitivity are determined by the modulation phase interval and the frequency of modulation. The potential utility of this framing sensor technique has been shown for several robotic vehicle and inspection applications in which the resolution requirements (x,y,z) vary from the macro (meter) to the micro (0.1mm) scale. Functional details of the sensor concept are presented, along with specific hardware implementations for macro and micro resolution applications. Respective performance characteristics for each implementation are presented along with sample imagery.

© 1985 Optical Society of America