Developing a laser theodolite for detecting distance using phase difference of incident and reflected waves

Abstract

Laser theodolite devices for detecting distance have been used in order to measure the distance of an object target from the location of an observer by transmitting ultra-short pulses toward a target and using a receiver to correlate the pulses returning from the target with corresponding reference pulses derived from the transmitted pulses. In order to replace analog devices, digital versions have been developed recently. In this paper, we propose the development of a digital laser theodolite for detecting distance using the phase difference of incident and reflected waves. Such a device can save expense and manufacturing time. Further, such a device can be realized in SOC (system on chip), an integrated circuit (IC) that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip, in order to utilize the device as a laser distance sensor as part of an overall sensor system.