High-resolution three-dimensional active imaging with uniform distance resolution

Abstract

We present a method to ensure uniform distance resolution distribution of three-dimensional (3D) active imaging and to improve distance resolution. Rising and falling edges were employed to encode the object depth, which has a uniform distance resolution distribution when the laser pulse shape is Gaussian. The 3D method uses a pulsed laser as the flood illuminating source and an intensified camera as the receiver. A scene at a 50m distance was detected at a resolution of about 0.1m, which is about three times better than that obtained by using the conventional method.