This thesis presents a scanning laser radar system to measure distances to targets. The sensor system consists of a scanning mechanism, electronic circuitry and laser optics. The scanning mechanism scans the laser pan beam which is collimated by a spherical convex lens. Then the electronic circuitry determines the distances from the sensor to targets by measuring the TOF(time of flight) with its time-to-voltage converter. This thesis also suggests an effective optics for scanning, which includes the FOV(field of view) enhancement of beam condensing and a single spherical convex lens for pan beam collimating.
The sensor system, proposed in this thesis, is suitable for vehicular environment. It is compact and light weight, and all of its components meet the requirements for an automotive system. The developed scanning laser radar system is applied to the Advanced Safety Vehicle.
In outdoor experiments, the system has achieved an accuracy better than 37.8 cm at 140 meters in distance. The system also provides a 2D depth profile over 280 mrad of its angular field of view.
There are still a few unsolved problems. Among them, the side lobe beam, which is introduced by imperfectly collimated pan beam, should be minimized to improve the angular resolution of the sensor system. The blind zone is also to be minimized in order to measure distances to the targets which are located at a short distance (775 cm) from the system.
