Contributed Review: Advanced three-dimensional laser radar imaging with the airborne optical systems testbed
Abstract
We describe the development of a state-of-the-art airborne 3D laser radar system capable of area coverage rates in excess of 150 km2/h. The ladar testbed can operate day and night and uses a low-power, eye-safe, and covert near-IR laser transmitter and a large-pixel-format photon-counting detector array coupled with a precision, fast-scanning, beam pointing mechanism. Mission areas include wide-area down-looking high-resolution open terrain and foliage-penetrating imaging, side-looking and up-looking laser ranging and tracking, and sensor fusion with electro-optical infrared cameras and hyperspectral payloads. We describe the airborne optical systems testbed ladar system, present recently collected 3D data, and discuss testbed configurations that can support advanced imaging applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.5017855
Entities
People
- Anthony Mangognia
- Brendan Edwards
- Daniel Dumanis
- Marius A. Albota
- Rajan Gurjar
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- United States Air Force