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1999 by CRC Press LLC
IIsfance
9.1 Basic Distinctions Between Range Measuiement
Techniques
Contact oi Noncontact Active oi Passive Time-of-Flight,
Tiiangulation, oi Field Based Foim of Eneigy Coheient oi
Noncoheient Detection Ranging, Range Imaging, oi Position
Tiacking
9.2 Peifoimance Limits of Ranging Systems
Range Accuiacy Depth of Field Maximum Range Lateial
Resolution Rate of Acquisition
9.3 Selected Examples of Ranging, Range Imaging, and
Motion Tiacking Systems
Lasei-Based Active Tiiangulation Ranging and Range Imaging
Sensois Lasei-Based Lidai Range Imaging Sensois Position
Tiacking with Active Taigets
9.4 A Sampling of Commeicial Ranging, Range
Imaging, and Motion Tiacking Pioducts
The tools and techniques of distance measuiement aie possibly one of humankind`s longest-iunning
inventive puisuits. The scale shown in Figuie 9.1 illustiates the enoimous iange of distances that science
and engineeiing have an inteiest in measuiing 1]. This chaptei conceins itself with methods to measuie
a ielatively small segment of this iange - fiom centimeteis to kilometeis. Even within this limited
segment, it would haidly be possible to list, much less desciibe, all of the distance measuiement
appioaches that have been devised. Neveitheless, the small sampling of technologies that aie coveied
heie should be of help to a bioad iange of ieadeis.
Distance measuiement, at its most basic, is conceined with deteimining the length of a unidimensional
line joining two points in thiee-dimensional space. Oftentimes, a collection of distance measuiements
is called foi, so that the shape, the oiientation, oi the changes in position of an object can be iesolved.
Theiefoie, one must considei not only the measuiement of distances, but also theii spatial and tempoial
distiibutions. The teiminology ianging" will be used in iefeience to systems that peifoim single sensoi-
to-taiget measuiements, iange-imaging" foi systems that collect a dense map oi giid of spatially dis-
tiibuted iange measuiements, and position tiacking" foi systems that iecoid the time histoiy of distance
measuiement to one oi seveial taigets.
9.1 Basic Distinctiuns Betveen Range
Measurement Techniques
Range measuiement devices may be classifed accoiding to some basic distinctions. Geneializations can
be made based on these bioad classes, theieby facilitating the piocess of compaiison and selection. The
following subsections identify the fundamental bases foi classifcation.
W. }ohn BaIIanfyne
Sor Aerooce Ird.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Cuntact ur Nuncuntact
A common appioach to measuiing the distance to a point on an object is thiough a calibiated mechanical
device that simultaneously connects the selected point to a iefeience position. Any tape measuie, feelei
gage, oi dial gage may be consideied an example of a simple contacting measuiement device. Mechani-
cal/electionic devices aie available that allow a usei to digitize" disciete point positions on a thiee-dimen-
sional suiface. A gimbaled piobe on the end of an X-Y-Z positionei oi aiticulated aim is used to touch a
specifc point, and sensoiy infoimation of the lineai positions oi joint aiticulations piovide an accuiate
position estimate. Mechanical, contact-based methods aie widely used in industiy and can be extiemely
accuiate. Some cooidinate measuiing machines (CMMs), foi example, can achieve 1 m iepeatability.
The chief disadvantage of mechanical appioaches is that they aie usually iestiicted to distances and
woik volumes up to a few meteis at maximum.This is due to fundamental scaling laws foi mechanical
stiuctuies. As the iequiiement to span laigei distances incieases, the mass and mechanical toleiancing
iequiiements on the machine make designs impiactical. Also, mechanical appioaches aie too slow to
make multiple measuiements in iapid succession, as is typically iequiied in iange imaging oi position
tiacking, when the measuiement involves laige sets of spatially oi tempoially distiibuted data.
Noncontact techniques foi peifoiming ianging, iange imaging, and position tiacking aie many and
vaiied. Besl 2] ieviews and compaies seveial of these. In the centimeteis to meteis iange, most do not
appioach the accuiacy of CMMs; but at laigei scales and foi laige quantities of data, they become a
piactical necessity. The iest of this chaptei will ieview noncontact appioaches only.
Active ur Passive
Noncontact distance measuiement may be divided into ate oi asse techniques. Active techniques
involve some foim of contiolled eneigy (feld oi wave) linking a known iefeience location to the unknown
taiget location. The souice of eneigy is typically associated with the iefeience location, but in some cases
the taiget, oi both taiget and iefeience, may be active. Passive techniques iely on an exteinally occuiiing
souice of eneigy (e.g., sunlight oi taiget/backgiound tempeiatuie contiast) to make the taiget detectable.
An active appioach can often simplify the distance measuiement pioblem because it allows a gieatei
degiee of contiol ovei the many factois that can inuence a measuiement. Foi example, the choice of
the foim of eneigy and the powei level of the active souice can minimize the effect of uncontiolled
vaiiables like ambient illumination, weathei, and atmospheiic conditions. Fuitheimoie, an active
appioach piovides an oppoitunity to selectively localize the measuiement spatially and tempoially,
eliminating possible ambiguity about which taiget point was measuied at a given time. In contiast, passive
FIGURE 9.1 Fiom the inteiatomic to the inteigalactic, the iange of measuiable distances spans at least 30 oideis
of magnitude. The box outline indicates the ielatively small segment that conceins this chaptei.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
systems (e.g., steieo ianging) sometimes suffei fiom the so-called coiiespondence pioblem," which is
conceined with how to deteimine whethei a given taiget point, detected fiom two oi moie viewpoints,
oi ovei two oi moie instants, is in fact the same physical point.
A common use of active appioaches is to make iange measuiements thiough" mateiials that aie
mechanically oi optically impenetiable. Examples include medical imaging, wheie vaiious foims of
diiected eneigy (ultiasound, X-iays) aie used to build suiface oi volumetiic maps of oigans and bones;
sonai, which penetiates watei bettei than light does; and giound-penetiating iadai, which can detect
objects and theii depth beneath giound suiface.
Passive appioaches, while not offeiing the same iange of contiol and exibility of active appioaches,
offei ceitain advantages. Fiist, because they emit no eneigy, theii existence cannot be detected by anothei
iemote detection system. This featuie is veiy impoitant in militaiy applications. Second, passive systems
can often collect multiple point iange measuiements moie quickly because they aie not limited by the
iate at which they can diiect an eneigy souice towaid a taiget point, as is the case with most active
systems. Foi example, a steieo ianging system effectively collects all iesolvable taiget points in its feld
of view simultaneously, while a scanning lasei, iadai, oi sonai ianging system collects each measuied
point sequentially. Finally, the absence of a diiected eneigy souice is a simplifcation that can signifcantly
ieduce the size, cost, and haidwaie complexity of a device (although at the expense of incieased signal
piocessing complexity).
Time-ul-F!ight, Triangu!atiun, ur Fie!d Based
Theie aie many diffeient classes and instances of noncontact ianging devices, but with veiy few exceptions
they aie based on one of the following thiee basic piinciples:
1. Eneigy piopagates at a known, fnite, speed (e.g., the speed of light, the speed of sound in aii)
2. Eneigy piopagates in stiaight lines thiough a homogeneous medium
3. Eneigy felds change in a continuous, monotonically decieasing, and piedictable mannei with
distance fiom theii souice
The techniques associated with these basic phenomena aie iefeiied to as time-of-ight, tiiangulation,
and feld based, iespectively.
Time-ul-F!ight
Tme-o[-[g| (TOF) systems may be of the iound-tiip" (i.e., echo, ieection) type oi the one-way"
(i.e., coopeiative taiget, active taiget) type. Round-tiip systems effectively measuie the time taken foi an
emitted eneigy pattein to tiavel fiom a iefeience souice to a paitially ieective taiget and back again.
Depending on whethei iadio fiequencies, light fiequencies, oi sound eneigy is used, these devices go by
names such as iadai, lidai, and sonai. One-way systems tiansmit a signal at the iefeience end and ieceive
it at the taiget end oi vice veisa. Some foim of synchionizing iefeience must be available to both ends
in oidei to establish the time of ight.
A chaiacteiistic of many TOF systems is that theii iange iesolution capability is based solely on the
shoitest time inteival they can iesolve, and not the absolute iange being measuied. That is, whethei an
object is neai oi fai, the eiioi on the measuiement is basically constant.
Triangu!atiun
Trangu|aon techniques weie known and piacticed by the Ancients. Tiiangulation is based on the idea
that if one knows the length of one side of a tiiangle and two of its angles, the length of the othei sides
can be calculated. The known side is the baseline." Lines of detection extend fiom eithei end of the
baseline to the taiget point as shown in Figuie 9.2. If the angles foimed between these lines and the
baseline can be deteimined, the distance is calculated as:
(9.1) R |
,
sin sin sin o o o o
left iight iight left
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Classical suiveying is a passive iange-fnding technique based on the above foimula. A suiveyoi uses a
piecision pointing instiument to sight a taiget fiom two positions sepaiated by a known baseline.
Refeience 3] notes that the distance to a neaiby stai may be calculated by obseiving it thiough a pointing
instiument at 6-month inteivals and using the diametei of Eaith`s solai oibit as the baseline. Steieo
ianging, which compaies the dispaiity (paiallax) between common featuies within images fiom two
cameias, is anothei foim of passive tiiangulation. It is of inteiest to note that human vision estimates
distance using a vaiiety of cues, but two of the most impoitant - steieopsis and motion paiallax - aie
fundamentally tiiangulation based 4].
Active tiiangulation techniques use a piojected light souice, often lasei, to cieate one side of the tiiangle,
and the viewing axis of an optical detection means to cieate the second side. The sepaiation between the
piojectoi and detectoi is the baseline.
A fundamental issue foi all tiiangulation-based appioaches is that theii ability to estimate iange
diminishes with the squaie of the iange being measuied. This may be contiasted with TOF appioaches,
which have essentially constant eiioi ovei theii opeiating iange. Figuie 9.3 illustiates how, conceptually,
theie is a ciossovei" distance wheie TOF techniques become piefeiable to tiiangulation techniques.
Fie!d-Based Appruaches
Wheieas TOF and active tiiangulation techniques employ the wave piopagation phenomena of a paitic-
ulai eneigy foim, fe|J-|aseJ appioaches make use of the spatially distiibuted natuie of an eneigy foim.
The intensity of any eneigy feld changes as a function of distance fiom its souice. Moieovei, felds often
exhibit vectoi chaiacteiistics (i.e., diiectionality). Theiefoie, if the location of a feld geneiatoi is known
and the spatial chaiacteiistics of the feld that it pioduces aie piedictable, iemote feld measuiements
contain infoimation that may be used to infei distance fiom the souice.
FIGURE 9.2 The basic tiiangulation geometiy as used in classical suiveying deteimines the distance to a iemote
point by sighting it fiom two locations sepaiated by a known baseline. The pointing angles
left
and
iight
aie measuied
locally.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
An inteiesting distinction between feld-based appioaches and wave-based appioaches is that the
foimei, although they employ eneigy felds, do not iely on the piopagation and conveision (and con-
comitant losses) of eneigy. That is, they may employ stationaiy felds, like those geneiated by a magnet
oi static chaige. Such felds encode position infoimation by theii veiy shape. Sound and light, although
having a wave natuie, can be exploited in the same mannei as stationaiy felds because of theii distance-
dependent intensity.
Field-based techniques must confiont some basic issues that limit theii iange of application. Fiist, the
chaiacteiistics of most piactically exploitable felds aie typically inuenced by objects oi mateiials in the
vicinity, and it is not always possible to ensuie that these inuences will iemain constant. Second, the
vaiiation of felds thiough space is highly nonlineai (typically inveise squaie oi inveise cube), implying
that the sensitivity of a measuiement is stiongly affected by pioximity to the souice. Notwithstanding
these conceins, devices have been developed and aie available that peifoim veiy well in the situations
foi which they aie intended 7].
Furm ul Energy
As discussed above, all noncontact, active ianging devices employ some foim of eneigy. This is tiue whethei
time-of-ight, tiiangulation, oi feld-based piinciples apply. The following subsections desciibe the vaiious
foims of eneigy employed and some geneializations about the effectiveness of each in vaiious situations.
Suund
Ranging systems based on sound eneigy aie usually of the pulsed-echo TOF type and employ caiiiei
fiequencies in the so-called ultiasonic" (beyond audible) iange of fiequencies. Besides being inaudible
FIGURE 9.3 Time-of-ight (TOF) and active tiiangulation techniques tend to exhibit eiioi chaiacteiistics ielated
to theii fundamental piinciples of opeiation. The dominant eiioi souice in TOF systems is usually the shoitest
measuiable time inteival, but this is a detection issue and is essentially independant of distance. Active tiiangulation
systems aie typically moie accuiate at close distances, but geometiy consideiations dictate that the effects of theii
eiioi souices will inciease with the squaie of distance.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
(an obvious beneft), ultiasonic fiequencies aie moie ieadily focused into diiected beams and aie piactical
to geneiate and detect using piezoelectiic tiansduceis. Ultiasonic signals piopagate thiough aii, but long-
distance tiansmission is much moie effective in liquids, like watei, wheie highei density-to-viscosity
iatios iesult in highei wave velocity and lowei attenuation pei unit distance. Ultiasonic ianging tech-
niques (oi SONAR, foi SOund NAvigation and Ranging) weie fist developed foi subsea applications,
wheie sound is vastly supeiioi to electiomagnetic eneigy (including light) in teims of achievable undei-
watei tiansmission distances 5]. Low-cost, poitable sonai systems aie widely used by spoit fsheiman
as fsh fndeis" 6].
The fiequencies typically used in sonic ianging applications aie at a few tens of kiloheitz to a few
hundied kiloheitz. A basic tiade-off in the choice of ultiasonic fiequency is that while high fiequencies
can be shaped into naiiowei beams, and theiefoie achieve highei lateial iesolution, they tend to fade
moie quickly with distance. It may be noted that beam widths naiiow enough foi iange imaging
applications (less than 10) aie effective in a uid medium, but attenuate too quickly to be piactical in
aii. Inteiestingly, although sound eneigy attenuates moie iapidly in aii than in watei, useful shoit-iange
signals can be geneiated in aii with ielatively low powei levels because the much lowei density of aii
iequiies smallei dynamic foices in the tiansducei foi a given wave amplitude.
When compaiing sound eneigy to electiomagnetic eneigy foi TOF-based techniques, one needs to
iemembei that sound, unlike light, piopagates at not only much lowei speeds, but with consideiably
moie speed vaiiation, depending on the type and state of the caiiying media. Theiefoie, factois like aii
humidity and piessuie will affect the accuiacy of a TOF ianging device. Foi undeiwatei applications,
salinity and depth inuence the measuiement. The lowei speed of sound has a detiimental impact on
the iate at which iange samples can be collected. Foi example, a taiget 10 m away takes at least 60 ms
to measuie thiough an aii medium. This may not seem like a long time to wait foi a single sample, but
it becomes an issue if the application involves multiple sampling, as in motion tiacking oi collision
avoidance sensing.
Statiunary Magnetic Fie!ds
Stationaiy oi pseudostationaiy (i.e., low fiequency) magnetic felds aie only used in feld-based
appioaches. An advantage of such felds is that they aie easily and cheaply pioduced by eithei a peimanent
magnet oi electiical coil. Since stationaiy felds do not tiansmit eneigy, the taigets cannot be passive -
they must actively sense the piopeities of the feld at theii paiticulai location. A vaiiety of sensing
technologies may be used to make measuiements of the diiection and intensity of a magnetic feld,
including ux gate, Hall effect, and magnetostiictive type magnetometeis. A compiehensive list of such
technologies is given in 7].
Radiu Frequencies
Echo-type TOF ianging systems based on the band of the electiomagnetic spectium between appioxi-
mately 1 m and 1 mm wavelength aie known as RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging). Radio waves
can be used foi long-distance detection in a vaiiety of atmospheiic conditions. As in the case of sound
waves, theie aie tiade-offs to be addiessed in the choice of fiequency. Long waves tend to piopagate
bettei ovei long distances, but shoit waves can be focused into naiiow beams capable of bettei lateial
disciimination. An inteiesting application of shoit-iange iadai is giound-penetiating iadai, which can
be used to locate and image subsuiface objects 8]. Heie, the fiequency vs. iange tiade-off is paiticulaily
acute because of the need to balance ieasonable imaging capability (naiiow beam) with good depth
penetiation (long wave).
An example of a TOF one-way (active ieceivei) system that uses iadio fiequencies is the global
positioning system (GPS). The distance between a ieceivei on land is deteimined by each of seveial
oibiting satellites equipped with a tiansmittei and a veiy piecise Cesium clock foi synchionization. A
good desciiption of GPS and its use in vehicle navigation is available in 9].
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Light Frequencies
Beyond the iadio poition of the electiomagnetic spectium aie the infiaied, visible, and ultiaviolet
fiequencies. These fiequencies can be pioduced by laseis and detected by solid-state photosensitive devices
and aie useful foi both TOF and active tiiangulation ianging. Echo-type TOF techniques aie known as
LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging), in keeping with the teiminology intioduced eailiei.
While light fiequencies attenuate moie than iadio fiequencies thiough cloud and fog, they can have
veiy naiiow beam widths, allowing supeiioi lateial iesolution and taiget selectivity.
Cuherent ur Nuncuherent Detectiun
Echo-type TOF devices, whethei sonai, iadai, oi lidai, can be fuithei classifed accoiding to whethei the
detection appioach measuies time-of-ight diiectly (noncoheient) oi exploits an inheient peiiodicity in
the emitted eneigy to asceitain the ight distance (coheient).
Noncoheient techniques face the pioblem of timing shoit inteivals. This is not a seiious challenge in
the case of sound waves, wheie a metei iound tiip coiiesponds to 6 ms, but is somewhat moie pioblematic
foi light and iadio waves, wheie that distance equates to only 6 ns. Accuiacy of noncoheient detection
typically ielies on the aveiaging of iepeated measuiements.
Coheient detection is achieved by combining a poition of the emitted signal with the ieected signal
to pioduce a thiid signal indicating the amount of phase delay. The signals aie continuous wave (CW)
as opposed to pulsed. Coheient detection techniques aie classifed as amplitude modulated (AMCW) oi
fiequency modulated (FMCW).
A basic issue with coheient detection techniques is the inability to distinguish between integial
multiples of the basic modulation wavelength. Any coheient detection system must employ techniques
to iesolve the so-called ambiguity inteival." Noncoheient techniques do not face this pioblem.
Ranging, Range Imaging, ur Pusitiun Tracking
Ranging devices aie typically pointed towaid a taiget to pioduce a single iange ieading. A common example
of simple ianging is the feedback sensoi used in auto-focus cameias. Theie aie many active ianging devices
cuiiently available based on TOF (i.e., iadai, sonai, lidai) and active tiiangulation piinciples.
Range imaging devices use the same piinciples as ianging devices, except that they include some foim
of scanning that is employed to geneiate an aiiay of spatially distiibuted iange samples. Sometimes, the
scanning action is accomplished by means intiinsic to the sensoi (e.g., spinning and nodding miiiois,
oi phased-aiiay antenna) so that the iefeience location iemains fxed. In this case, the data aie iecoided
in the polai foim (iange, elevation, azimuth) as shown in Figuie 9.4. In othei cases, the sensoi might
scan on only one axis inteinally while the second scan dimension is iealized by moving the sensoi location
thiough some set pattein. It is not uncommon to iecoid the intensity" oi ietuin eneigy associated with
a iange sample as well. The intensity map may be piesented as a giay scale" image and, like a black and
white photogiaph, often contains additional infoimation useful in inteipieting a scene. Range images
can be used to pioduce thiee-dimensional giaphic iepiesentations of scenes and objects. A common use
of iange imaging is aeiial teiiain mapping.
Position tiacking devices aie used to measuie the change in an object`s position and oiientation ovei
time. Basic issues in position tiacking aie the acquiiing of, and locking on to, specifc taiget points. These
issues can be avoided by employing active taigets, and most systems available today aie of this type.
9.2 Perlurmance Limits ul Ranging Systems
The peifoimance chaiacteiistics of available ianging systems vaiy widely, as do the iequiiements of the
applications foi which they aie designed. The following subsections ieview the most basic peifoimance
categoiies and the technical issues of peifoimance limits.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Range Accuracy
As illustiated in Figuie 9.3, TOF and active tiiangulation techniques diffei fundamentally in theii eiioi
vs. distance chaiacteiistics. Cuiiently available systems based on active tiiangulation achieve bettei
iepeatability and accuiacy in the less than 1 m iange than do TOF systems, but aie seldom used at
distances of seveial meteis. Hymaic Ltd. and Peiception Inc. each offei lasei tiiangulation systems with
3 accuiacy of 25 mm and 50 mm, iespectively 10, 11].
In piinciple, TOF systems could achieve accuiacy iivaling active tiiangulation, but the most piomising
detection technique - a vaiiation of lasei inteifeiometiy, which solves the ambiguity inteival
pioblem 12] - has yet to make its commeicial debut.
Depth ul Fie!d
Depth of feld iefeis to the inteival of distance thiough which a stationaiy iefeience ianging system can
measuie without iesoiting to a change in confguiation. Laige depth of feld is often an impoitant
chaiacteiistic in piactical applications. Foi example, if the distance to the taiget is pooily known a piioii,
then a laige depth of feld is desiiable.
Passive optical tiiangulation appioaches like steieogiaphy and photogiammetiy tend to have iestiicted
depth of feld because they iely on cameia-type imaging, which is inheiently limited by depth of focus.
Timed-inteival TOF systems have excellent depth of feld because they do not iely stiongly on optical
imaging except to concentiate the collected ietuin eneigy on the detectoi. Some active tiiangulation
systems do iely on optical imaging of the piojected lasei spot, but the design employed by Hymaic Ltd.
iegains a laige depth of feld by tilting the detectoi aiiay with iespect to the lens plane 13].
FIGURE 9.4 Range images aie typically an aiiay of individual iange values sampled while changing the pointing
diiection (e.g., azimuth and elevation angles) of a ianging device. A digital iange image of the polai foim shown can
be ieadily tiansfoimed into iectangulai cooidinates if iequiied.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Maximum Range
Any active ianging, iange imaging, oi position tiacking system has a piactical maximum distance that
it can measuie. This is because the contiolled eneigy, whethei piopagated as a wave oi established as a
feld, must spiead befoie ieaching the detectoi. The spieading inevitably incieases with distance and all
detectois, no mattei what foim of eneigy they measuie, iequiie a ceitain minimum amount to exceed
theii inheient noise ooi."
The classical iadai iange equation" is intioduced in many texts on iadai (e.g., 14]). Jelalian 15]
points out that the equation is equally applicable to lidai, which, aftei all, just employs a highei fiequency
veision of electiomagnetic wave. In fact, the same idea applies to sonai and to active tiiangulation systems
as well. The equation computes the powei of the ieceived signal as:
(9.2)
wheie P
R
powei at the ieceivei
P
T
powei tiansmitted
C
T
tiansmittei gain
R iange to taiget
ieectivity of taiget
effective aiea of taiget
D diametei of collecting apeituie

atm
atmospheiic tiansmission coefficient

sys
system tiansmission coeffcient
Equation 9.2 applies when the taiget aiea is smallei than the footpiint of the incident beam, which is
often the case foi iadai and sonai ianging. Howevei, in the case of lasei-based systems, the ielatively
naiiow beam usually means that the lasei spot is small compaied to the taiget. Foi a tiansmitted beam
that spieads with a solid angle
T
, the illuminated patch aiea is:
(9.3)
The defnition of tiansmittei gain is based on the notion of the solid angle beam width as compaied to
an omnidiiectional tiansmittei
(9.4)
One can substitute foi Equation 9.4 foi C
T
and Equation 9.3 foi the vaiiable s in Equation 9.2 to pioduce
the iange equation foi a small spot size.
(9.5)
The impoitance of this equation is piimaiily in the 1/R
2
dependence. Any ianging system that woiks by
bouncing eneigy off a diffuse ieective taiget encounteis seveie signal attenuation with incieasing
distance. Given a detectoi with a fxed noise ooi, the only ways to impiove maximum iange aie to
inciease the tiansmitted powei oi the collecting aiea. In piactice, theie aie design constiaints that limit
both of these measuies. Foi example, lasei powei must sometimes be limited foi eye-safety consideiations,
and incieased collecting aiea can imply a piopoitional inciease in sensoi packaging volume.
P P C R R D
R T T atm sys
r r r 4 4 4
2 2 2
p q q
o
spot T
rR
2 2
C
T T
2
r 4
P P R D
R T atm sys

2 2
4 4 p r q q
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Latera! Resu!utiun
In iange imaging applications, it is geneially desiiable to use the naiiowest possible beam width to piovide
good lateial disciimination of taiget suiface featuies. Laseis, because of theii shoit wavelength, can be
optically collimated to pioduce much naiiowei beam widths than aie possible with iadio souices.
Howevei, even laseis cannot pioduce aibitiaiily naiiow beams. The inteiested ieadei is iefeiied to 13]
foi a discussion of Gaussian beam piopagation and optimal focusing. Theie aie basically two ways to
pioject lasei light. The beam can be focused down" to pioduce the smallest possible spot at a paiticulai
point inside the measuiement iange, in which case the beam will diveige as the distance fiom that point
incieases; oi the beam can be focused at infnity oi some veiy distant point so as to minimize the
diveigence thiough the entiie measuiement iange. The foimei appioach piovides highei lateial iesolution
at the focus distance, but by implication iestiicts the piactical depth of feld. The lattei compiomises
spot size foi incieased depth of feld.
Rate ul Acquisitiun
The iate at which a ianging sensoi can acquiie iange samples is impoitant when the taiget object is
changing shape oi position, oi when the iequiied sample density of a iange image is veiy high. Theie
aie seveial potential factois that can limit sample acquisition iate: the amount of time iequiied by the
detectoi to integiate the weak ietuin signal to a suffcient level (integiation time); the time constant of
any flteiing oi aveiaging that must be peifoimed to iealize an acceptably clean" signal (smoothing
time); the iate at which samples can be tiansfeiied thiough the signal piocessing stages (tiansfei time);
and the velocity limits of mechanical scanning appaiatus (scanning bandwidth). Acquisition iates vaiy
widely: fiom tens of heitz foi acoustic ianging devices to tens of kiloheitz foi some lasei-based systems.
It is woith noting that, in geneial, theie is a tiade-off between iate of acquisition, accuiacy, and maximum
iange. Some systems peimit contiol ovei basic paiameteis so that this tiade-off may be optimized foi a
paiticulai application. The ieadei should be awaie that data sheets may not be cleai as to whethei stated
peifoimance fguies foi these thiee specifcations aie valid in combination.
9.3 Se!ected Examp!es ul Ranging, Range Imaging,
and Mutiun Tracking Systems
The following sections ieview selected examples of some specifc ianging, iange imaging, and position
tiacking sensoi systems. The list is by no means exhaustive, but offeis a ieasonable sampling of available
technologies.
Laser-Based Active Triangu!atiun Ranging and Range Imaging Sensurs
Active Triangu!atiun Basics
Figuie 9.5 illustiates the basic active tiiangulation geometiy. In this so-called pinhole cameia" model,
piactical aspects like lenses foi piojection and detection and miiiois foi scanning aie eliminated foi
claiity. It can be shown by means of similai tiiangles that the iange is inveisely piopoitional to the
deection of the imaged spot.
(9.6)
wheie R distance to object
| baseline distance
[ lens to detectoi distance
u detected spot position in the image plane
R |[ u
1999 by CRC Press LLC
The sensitivity of the iange measuiement, oi the inciemental change in u with R, is
(9.7)
The signifcance of Equation 9.7 is that iange estimating peifoimance is expected to fall as distance
incieases. Impiovements in accuiacy aie iealized by incieasing the baseline oi the lens to detectoi distance
(i.e., the focal length).
Synchrunized Scanning Princip!e
Lateial scanning of an active tiiangulation ianging sensoi is accomplished by an elegant and effective
technique developed at Canada`s National Reseaich Council and now maiketed by Hymaic Ltd. undei
the name HYSCAN" 10]. A two-sided oscillating miiioi simultaneously steeis the outgoing beam on
one face and diiects the collected light to the spot-imaging optics on the opposite face. By synchionously
scanning both the beam and the axis of the detection system, iathei than the beam only, as conventionally
piacticed, signifcant peifoimance impiovements aie made. Figuie 9.6 is a schematic illustiation of the
appioach. Note also that the detectoi plane is tilted with iespect to the lens plane. This featuie incieases
the depth of focus so that the ianging peifoimance is maximized ovei the measuiing volume. The Hyscan
sensoi pioduces a single-axis sweep, oi so-called line scan." Full-dimension iange images aie acquiied
by tianslating the sensoi ovei a taiget suiface with a contiolled motion pattein.
Light P!ane Princip!e
Peiception Inc. offeis a similai line-scan system undei the name TiiCam" 11]. In this case, the lasei is
not swept. Instead, the beam is tiansfoimed to a focused plane by means of cylindiical lenses. A two-
dimensional detectoi is used to geneiate iange piofles thiough the analysis of a defoimation of the lasei
line as the sensoi is tianslated ovei the object suiface.
FIGURE 9.5 A simple pinhole cameia model illustiates the basic active tiiangulation piinciple. As the distance R
to the taiget suiface changes, the spot position u on the detectoi changes, maintaining similaiity between the laige
tiiangle outside the cameia and the small tiiangle inside. Theie is an inveise ielationship between R and u.
Ju JR |[ R
2
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Laser-Based Lidar Range Imaging Sensurs
AM Lidar [Phase-Based Detectiun)
Peiception Inc. also offeis a scanning lidai undei the name LASAR" that can pioduce high-iesolution
iange images thiough a laige measuiement volume. The device uses a neai-infiaied lasei that is piojected
thiough a collimating telescope to foim a spot on the fist suiface encounteied. The spot is swept ovei
FIGURE 9.6 The Hymaic lasei tiiangulaton line scannei uses the synchionized scanning piinciple. Both sides of
an oscillating miiioi aie used to sweep both the piojected beam and the axis of detection ovei the taiget. The detectoi
aiiay is tilted to the lens plane to maximize the depth of focus.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
a piogiammable feld of view in a iastei pattein by means of a spinning polygon miiioi and an oscillating
nodding miiioi." Some of the backscatteied light is collected and diiected by means of an adjacent facet
of the polygon miiioi. The piojected lasei light is amplitude modulated at a iefeience fiequency by
contiolling the powei to the lasei diode souice. The ietuin signal, although oideis of magnitude weakei
than the outgoing signal, is phase-compaied to deteimine the iange foi a paiticulai azimuth and eleva-
tion. The intensity of the ietuin eneigy is also iecoided. The Peiception sales liteiatuie claims a maximum
measuiement volume of 60 72 40 m, a iange image giid iesolution of 1024 2048 pixels and a
maximum acquisition iate of 360,000 pixels/s. A schematic diagiam of the LASAR' system is shown in
Figuie 9.7. Details of the Peiception technical appioach may be found in 16].
Resunating Lidar [Frequency-Based Detectiun)
Acuity Reseaich Inc. has developed a lasei-based TOF ianging sensoi based on a simple but effective
idea. The detectoi contiols the lasei output such that the absence of a signal diives the lasei on and the
piesence of a signal tuins it off. The fnite tiansit time of the light bounce tuins this aiiangement into
a two-state iesonatoi, with the peiiod being piopoitional to the taiget distance. Rathei than measuiing
the peiiod, which is extiemely shoit and diffcult to time, the fiequency is measuied using conventional
counting techniques foi as many cycles as necessaiy to yield the iequiied accuiacy. The AccuRange 4000,
as it is named, is also available in a 360 line-scanning aiiangement suitable foi iobotic vehicle navigation
applications 17]. Details of the technical appioach may be found in 18].
FIGURE 9.7 The Peiception AM Lidai system desciibed in U.S. patent 5,006,721 uses a iotating polygon miiioi
foi synchionized scanning. A nodding miiioi" is also added to sweep at a slowei iate in the oithogonal diiection,
pioducing a iastei scan pattein. Range measuiement is deteimined by compaiing the phase of the outgoing and
ietuining AM lasei signal.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Pusitiun Tracking vith Active Targets
Active taiget appioaches aie not convenient in some applications, but they aie an excellent way to tiack
the changing positions of seveial taiget points simultaneously. Active taigets aie a way of getting aiound
the coiiespondence pioblem" mentioned eailiei. The two systems intioduced heie aie inteiesting to
compaie. One employs light eneigy and tiiangulation; the othei uses a magnetic feld-based appioach.
They aie both used foi ieal-time tiacking and iecoiding of human kinetics, iobotics, and othei moving
objects.
Active Target Triangu!atiun
The OPTOTRAK" system offeied by Noithein Digital Ltd. 19] uses infiaied light emitting diodes
(LEDs) as taigets. The LEDs aie multiplexed so that only one at a time can be seen by the cameia system,
avoiding the coiiespondence pioblem. The unique foim of steieo ianging is based on thiee line detectois
with lenses that tiansfoim the point souice LED illumination into a focused line. The simplifed tiian-
gulating geometiy is shown in Figuie 9.8. It may be shown fiom this geometiy that the taiget position
(x
p
, y
p
, :
p
) can be deteimined fiom the detectoi outputs u
left
, u
iight
, and as follows:
(9.8)
(9.9)
(9.10)
wheie [ and | aie the lens-to-detectoi distance and the baseline sepaiation iespectively. In piactice, the
image space to object space mapping is much moie complicated than Equations 9.8 to 9.10, and involves
a cameia model with moie than 60 paiameteis that aie deteimined thiough a calibiation piocess.
OPTOTRACK offeis high sampling iate, laige measuiement volume, and high accuiacy compaied to
many othei position tiacking systems.
Magnetic Pusitiun Tracking
A position/oiientation tiacking sensoi based on a thiee-axis magnetic dipole tiansmittei and a thiee-
axis magnetic loop detectoi has been developed by Polhemus Inc. 20]. The tiansmitted felds aie altei-
nating cuiient foi ease of detection (i.e., tiansfoimei coupled) and time-multiplexed so that the feld
due to each axis can be distinguished fiom the otheis. Distance between tiansmittei and detectoi is
deteimined by exploiting the 1/R
3
ielationship between feld stiength and distance fiom the souice.
Oiientation of the detectoi is deteimined by exploiting the diiectionality of magnetic felds and the
diiection sensitivity of loop detectois.
An issue with iespect to the use of ac felds is the distoitions in feld shape that occui if metal objects
aie piesent, and the consequent effect on sensoi accuiacy. These distoitions iesult fiom eddy cuiients
in the conducting metal. Ascension Technology Coip. has developed a vaiiation on the Polhemus sensoi
based on dc magnetic felds. The switching tiansient due to time-multiplexing does pioduce an eddy
cuiient effect, but it is allowed to die out befoie measuiement is made. Details of the dc technique aie
available in 21].
An impoitant diffeience between optical and magnetic tiacking technologies is that the foimei iequiie
an unbioken line of sight to the taigets while the lattei do not. This gives magnetic tiackeis an advantage
in some applications. On the othei hand, the 1/R
3
feld distiibution chaiacteiistic of magnetic tiacking
x | u u u u
p iight left iight left
+
,

,
2
y | u u
p iight left

,
: [| u u
p iight left

,
1999 by CRC Press LLC
implies an extieme sensitivity loss with distance, wheieas optical tiiangulation has a moie benign 1/R
chaiacteiistic. This, to some extent, explains why the volume of measuiement and accuiacy of optical
tiiangulation systems is geneially much bettei than foi magnetic systems.
9.4 A Samp!ing ul Cummercia! Ranging, Range Imaging,
and Mutiun Tracking Pruducts
Table 9.1 contains infoimation collected fiom vendoi liteiatuie. Be advised when compaiing specifca-
tions that test conditions, standaids, and inteipietations can vaiy signifcantly. The specifcations, theie-
foie, should seive only as a iough guide.
FIGURE 9.8 The OPTOTRAK position tiacking system employs a novel aiiangement of cylindiical optics and one-
dimensional detectois to tiiangulate the 3-D position of an infiaied LED taiget. Up to 255 individual multiplexed
taigets can be tiacked by the system.
1999 by CRC Press LLC
Relerences
1. R. Resnick and D. Halliday, P|ysts (Par 1). New Yoik: John Wiley & Sons, 1966. 4.
2. P. J. Besl, Range imaging sensois. Geneial Motois Reseaich Publication, GMR-6090, Geneial
Motois Reseaich Laboiatoiies, Waiien, MI, Maich, 1988.
3. R. Resnick and D. Halliday, P|ysts (Par 1). New Yoik: John Wiley & Sons, 1966. 3.
4. D. F. McAllistei (ed.), Sereo Comuer Cra|ts anJ O|er True JD Tet|no|oges, Piinceton, NJ:
Piinceton Univeisity Piess, 1993. Ch. 4.
5. L. E. Kinslei and A. R. Fiey, FunJamena|s o[ tousts, 2nJ. eJ., New Yoik: John Wiley & Sons,
1962, Chs. 9, 15.
6. W. Diediich, Foundations of ieading sonai, T|e In-Fs|erman, Apiil-May, 42-56, 1996.
7. E. B. Blood, Device foi quantitatively measuiing the ielative position and oiientation of two bodies
in the piesence of metals utilizing diiect cuiient magnetic felds, U.S. Patent 4,945,305, Jul. 31, 1990.
8. W. J. Steinway and C. R. Baiiett, Development status of a stepped-fiequency giound penetiating
iadai, in UnJergrounJ anJ O|stureJ O|,et Imagng anJ Deeton, SPIE ProteeJngs, Vol. 1942,
Oilando, FL, Apiil 1993, 34-43.
9. J. Boienstein, H. R. Eveiett, and L. Feng, Wheie am I: Sensois and Methods foi Autonomous
Mobile Robot Positioning, 1995 Edition. Univeisity of Michigan iepoit foi the United States Dept.
of Eneigy Robotics Technology Development Piogiam, Ann Aiboi, MI, 1995. Ch. 3.
10. Hymaic Ltd., 1995. Pioduct Infoimation, Hyscan 3D Lasei Digitizing Systems. Ottawa, Ontaiio,
Canada.
11. Peiception Inc., 1995. Pioduct Infoimation, TiiCam Non-Contact Measuiement Solutions. Faim-
ington Hills, MI.
12. F. E. Goodwin, Fiequency Modulated Lasei Radai, U.S. Patent 4,830,486, May 16, 1989.
13. F. Blais, M. Rioux, and J.-A. Beialdin, Piactical consideiations foi a design of a high piecision 3D
lasei scannei system, SPIE Vo|. 959, Oomet|anta| anJ E|etro-Ota| Desgn o[ InJusra| Sysems,
1988.
TABLE 9.1 Ranging, Range Imaging, and Position Tiacking Pioducts and Vendois
Class Tiade Name Piinciple Featuies Contact
Ranging
(contact)
MicioSciibe-3DX Instiumented
aim
50 in. spheiical woik volume,
0.3 mm accuiacy
Immeision Coip.
(408) 467-1900,
infoCimmeise.com
Ranging
(noncontact)
LASERVISION TOF, lasei 50 m iange, 4.9 mm accuiacy C
15 m, integiated electionic level
ZIRCON Coip.,
(408) 866-8600
Range-Imaging
(line scan)
HYSCAN Active
tiiangulation
lasei
40 mm depth of feld, 70 mm
swath, 0.025 mm accuiacy,
10,000 points/s
Hymaic Ltd.,
(613) 727-1584,
infoChymaic.com
Range-Imaging
(line scan)
TiiCam Active
tiiangulation
lasei
120 mm depth of feld, 60 mm
swath, 0.05 mm accuiacy
Peiception Inc.,
(810) 478-7710,
inquiiyCpeiception.com
Range-Imaging
(line scan)
ALTM 1020 TOF lasei
time-inteival
330-1000 m iange, 15 cm
accuiacy, 20 swath
Optech Inc.,
(416) 661-5904
Range-Imaging
(aiea scan)
Rangecam 7000 Lasei oi stiobe
tiiangulation
uses standaid CCD cameia and
light plane piojectoi
Range Vision Inc.
(604) 473-9411
Range-Imaging
(aiea scan)
LASAR TOF, AM Lidai 2-40 m iange, 60 70 max feld
of view, 360,000 samples/s
Peiception Inc.,
(810) 478-7710
Position
Tiacking
OPTOTRAK Active taiget
tiiangulation
up to 255 taigets, submillimetei
accuiacy, 5000 3 DoF samples/s
Noithein Digital Inc.,
(519) 884-5142
Position
Tiacking
Flock of Biids Magnetic feld
based
up to 30 position/oiientation
taigets, appiox. 10 mm acuiacy,
144 6-DoF samples/s
Ascension Technology
Coip. (802) 860-6440
1999 by CRC Press LLC
14. D. K. Baiton, RaJar Sysem na|yss, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pientice-Hall, 1964. Ch. 4.
15. A. V. Jelalian, Laser RaJar Sysems, Aitech House, 1992. Ch. 1.
16. E. S. Cameion, R. P. Siumski, and J. K. West, Lidai Scanning System, U.S. Patent 5,006,721, Api. 9,
1991.
17. Acuity Reseaich Inc., 1995. Pioduct Infoimation, Accuiange 4000. Menlo Paik, CA.
18. R. R. Claik, Scanning iangefndei with iange to fiequency conveision, U.S. Patent 5,309,212, May 3,
1994.
19. Noithein Digital Inc., 1990. Pioduct Liteiatuie, OPTOTRACK 3D Motion Measuiement System,
Wateiloo, Ontaiio, Canada.
20. F. H. Raab, E. B. Blood, T. O. Steinei, and H. R. Jones, Magnetic position and oiientation tiacking
system, IEEE Trans. erosate E|etront Sysems, Vol. AES-15, No. 5, Septembei 1979.
21. E. B. Blood, Device foi quantitatively measuiing the ielative position and oiientation of two bodies
in the piesence of metals utilizing diiect cuiient magnetic felds, U.S. Patent 4,945,305, July 31,
1990.