Scannerless laser range camera

Abstract

The requirement to quickly obtain 3D measurements is common to a variety of tasks in different fields of applications, i.e. robotics, space craft rendezvous and docking scenarios and industrial assemblies. In this paper, a novel type of non‐scanning optical 3D laser camera is presented. This is useful for both space and industrial applications. Avoiding any moving mechanical parts, the new sensor is able to exceed the frame rate and lateral resolution limits of common scanning devices, while providing both a grey‐scale image and a dense range image of the scene at the same time.