THREE DIMENSIONAL FLASH LADAR FOCAL PLANES AND TIME DEPENDENT IMAGING

Abstract

3-D flash ladar, herein defined as obtaining an entire frame of 3-D ladar data with one laser pulse, is an emerging technology with a number of advantages over conventional point scanner systems. Probably the most obvious advantage is the higher data rates possible and the potential for much higher data rates with increases in the associated 3-D focal planes array (FPA) format. High data rate means that topographical mapping, for example, can be obtained more rapidly decreasing the amount of flight time required. This paper investigates the clear but perhaps not-so-intuitive use of the high data rate: time dependent 3-D movies can be acquired at the repetition frequency of the associated laser. Data is taken using 3-D flash ladar cameras fabricated by Advanced Scientific Concepts, Inc. The paper concludes that there are a number of advantages and unique applications of the time dynamic 3-D flash ladar, including 3-D collision avoidance and object tracking.