Imaging lidar system using non-visible light
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of detecting and imaging an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow including the steps of:
- selectively generating pulses of non-visible light;
projecting said pulses of non-visible light at an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow;
detecting said pulses of light reflected back from said object after a time delay corresponding to the round-trip propagation time of said light pulses to and from said object using at least one camera means;
detecting the leading edge of light reflected back from said object using glint detection means;
gating said at least one camera means on one pulse after said glint detection means detects the leading edge of the reflected light; and
converting the detected pulses of non-visible light to a video image of said object.
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Abstract
A system is presented for the remote detection and imaging of objects at night. In accordance with the present invention, a laser is used to generate short pulses of infrared light with pulse widths on the order of nanoseconds. The laser light is expanded by optics and projected at the target scene. An intensified CCD (charge coupled device) camera is electronically shuttered after an appropriate time delay such that the image formed by the camera is composed of infrared light backscattered by the target from a range of r.
69 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of detecting and imaging an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow including the steps of:
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selectively generating pulses of non-visible light; projecting said pulses of non-visible light at an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow; detecting said pulses of light reflected back from said object after a time delay corresponding to the round-trip propagation time of said light pulses to and from said object using at least one camera means; detecting the leading edge of light reflected back from said object using glint detection means; gating said at least one camera means on one pulse after said glint detection means detects the leading edge of the reflected light; and converting the detected pulses of non-visible light to a video image of said object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for detecting and imaging an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow comprising:
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generating means for selectively generating pulses of non-visible light; projecting means for projecting said pulses of non-visible light at an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow; at least one camera means for detecting said pulses of light reflected back from said object after a time delay corresponding to the round-trip propagation time of said light pulses to and from said object; glint detection means for detecting the leading edge of light reflected back from said object; gating means for gating said at least one camera means on one pulse after said glint detection means detects the leading edge of the reflected light; and converting means for converting the detected pules of non-visible light to a video image of said object. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of detecting and imaging an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow including the steps of:
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selectively generating pulses of non-visible light; projecting said pulses of non-visible light at an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow; detecting said pulses of light reflected back from said object after a time delay corresponding to the round-trip propagation time of said light pulses to and from said object wherein glint detection means is used to detect the leading edge of light reflected back from said object; and converting the detected pulses of non-visible light to a video image of said object.
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29. A method of detecting and imaging an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow including the steps of:
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selectively generating pulses of non-visible light; projecting said pulses of non-visible light at an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow; detecting said pulses of light reflected back from said object using at least one camera means after a time delay corresponding to the round-trip propagation time of said light pulses to and from said object; gating said camera means on one pulse after the leading edge of the reflected light is detected; and converting the detected pulses of non-visible light to a video image of said object.
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30. An apparatus for detecting and imaging an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow comprising:
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generating means for selectively generating pulses of non-visible light; projecting means for projecting said pulses of non-visible light at an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow; detecting means for detecting said pulses of light reflected back from said object after a time delay corresponding to the round-trip propagation time of said light pulses to and from said object; glint detection means for detecting the leading edge of light reflected back from said object; and converting means for converting the detected pulses of non-visible light to a video image of said object. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. An apparatus for detecting and imaging an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow comprising:
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generating means for selectively generating pulses of non-visible light; projecting means for projecting said pulses of non-visible light at an object at night or where atmospheric propagation of visible light is severely hampered by fog, dust, smoke, haze or snow; at least one camera means for detecting said pulses of light reflected back from said object after a time delay corresponding to the round-trip propagation time of said light pulses to and from said object; gating means for gating said camera means on one pulse after the leading edge of the reflected light is detected; and converting means for converting the detected pulses of non-visible light to a video image of said object.
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Specification