Method and System for Ladar Transmission with Spinning Polygon Mirror for Dynamic Scan Patterns
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- processing a shot list, the shot list comprising a plurality of range points for targeting by a scanning ladar transmission system, wherein the scanning ladar transmission system comprises (1) a first mirror that is scannable with respect to a first axis, and (2) a second mirror that is scannable with respect to second axis that is orthogonal to the first axis, wherein the first mirror comprises a spinning polygon mirror;
controlling a dynamic scan pattern for the scanning ladar transmission system by scanning the spinning polygon mirror and the second mirror to a plurality of mirror scan positions based on the processed shot list to target the range points of the processed shot list, wherein the combination of the mirror scan positions for the spinning polygon mirror and the second mirror define the range points to which the scanning ladar transmission system is targeted; and
transmitting, by the controlled scanning ladar transmission system, a plurality of ladar pulses toward the range points of the processed shot list in accordance with the dynamic scan pattern.
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Abstract
Various embodiments are disclosed for improved scanning ladar transmission, including but not limited to an example embodiment where the scanning ladar transmission system includes a spinning polygon mirror for targeting range points according to a dynamic scan pattern.
211 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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processing a shot list, the shot list comprising a plurality of range points for targeting by a scanning ladar transmission system, wherein the scanning ladar transmission system comprises (1) a first mirror that is scannable with respect to a first axis, and (2) a second mirror that is scannable with respect to second axis that is orthogonal to the first axis, wherein the first mirror comprises a spinning polygon mirror; controlling a dynamic scan pattern for the scanning ladar transmission system by scanning the spinning polygon mirror and the second mirror to a plurality of mirror scan positions based on the processed shot list to target the range points of the processed shot list, wherein the combination of the mirror scan positions for the spinning polygon mirror and the second mirror define the range points to which the scanning ladar transmission system is targeted; and transmitting, by the controlled scanning ladar transmission system, a plurality of ladar pulses toward the range points of the processed shot list in accordance with the dynamic scan pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
a scanning ladar transmission system configured to direct a plurality of ladar pulses toward a plurality of range points via a plurality of scanable mirrors, wherein the scanning ladar transmission system comprises; a beam scanner, the beam scanner including a first mirror and a second mirror, wherein the first mirror comprises a spinning polygon mirror, wherein the beam scanner is configured to (1) scan the first mirror to a plurality of mirror scan positions in response to a first control signal to target the scanning ladar transmission system along a first axis, and (2) scan the second mirror to a plurality of mirror scan positions in response to a second control signal to target the scanning ladar transmission system along a second axis, and wherein the combination of the mirror scan positions for the first and second mirrors defines the range points to which the scanning ladar transmission system is targeted; and a beam scanner controller, wherein the beam scanner controller is configured to generate the first and second control signals for use by the beam scanner such that the first and second control signals define a dynamic scan pattern for the scanning ladar transmission system with respect to the range points. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification