System and method of identifying an object in a laser beam illuminated scene based on material types
First Claim
1. Method of identifying an object in a laser beam illuminated scene based on material types, said method comprising the steps of:
- emitting a pulsed beam of laser energy, each beam pulse comprising a plurality of different discrete wavelength emission components;
illuminating a predetermined scene with said pulsed beam of laser energy;
receiving return laser pulses from objects within said illuminated scene, each return laser pulse comprising return components corresponding to the plurality of different discrete wavelength emission components;
determining spectral reflectance values for said plurality of return components of each return laser pulse;
determining a material type for each return laser pulse of said illuminated scene based on said plurality of reflectance values of the corresponding return pulse;
indexing each determined material type to a position in said illuminated scene; and
identifying an object in said illuminated scene based on material types and indexed positions thereof in said scene.
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Abstract
A method of identifying an object in a laser beam illuminated scene based on material types comprises the steps of: emitting a pulsed beam of laser energy, each beam pulse comprising a plurality of different discrete wavelength emission components; illuminating a predetermined scene with the pulsed beam; receiving return laser pulses from objects within the illuminated scene, each return laser pulse comprising return components corresponding to the plurality of different discrete wavelength emission components; determining spectral reflectance values for the plurality of return components of each return laser pulse; determining a material type for each return laser pulse of the illuminated scene based on the plurality of reflectance values of the corresponding return pulse; indexing each determined material type to a position in the illuminated scene; and identifying an object in the illuminated scene based on material types and indexed positions thereof in the scene. A counterpart system for carrying out the method is also disclosed.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. Method of identifying an object in a laser beam illuminated scene based on material types, said method comprising the steps of:
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emitting a pulsed beam of laser energy, each beam pulse comprising a plurality of different discrete wavelength emission components;
illuminating a predetermined scene with said pulsed beam of laser energy;
receiving return laser pulses from objects within said illuminated scene, each return laser pulse comprising return components corresponding to the plurality of different discrete wavelength emission components;
determining spectral reflectance values for said plurality of return components of each return laser pulse;
determining a material type for each return laser pulse of said illuminated scene based on said plurality of reflectance values of the corresponding return pulse;
indexing each determined material type to a position in said illuminated scene; and
identifying an object in said illuminated scene based on material types and indexed positions thereof in said scene. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for identifying an object in a laser beam illuminated scene based on material types, said system comprising:
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a laser source for emitting a pulsed beam of laser energy, each beam pulse comprising a plurality of different discrete wavelength emission components;
a first arrangement of optical elements disposed in a path of said pulsed beam for illuminating a predetermined scene with said pulsed beam of laser energy;
a second arrangement of optical elements for receiving return laser pulses from objects within said illuminated scene and separating each return laser pulse into return components corresponding to the plurality of different discrete wavelength emission components;
a first processing circuit for receiving said return components, determining spectral reflectance values for said plurality of return components of each return laser pulse, and generating reflectance signals representative thereof; and
a second processing circuit for receiving said reflectance signals and determining a material type for each return laser pulse of said illuminated scene based on said plurality of reflectance signals of the corresponding return pulse, said second processing circuit operative to index each determined material type to a position in said illuminated scene, and to identify an object in said illuminated scene based on material types and indexed positions thereof in said scene. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification