Adaptive Sampling LIDAR for High Speed, High Resolution Hazard Detection

PSI is proposing an Adaptive Sampling (AdS) LiDAR for high-speed, high-resolution hazard detection capable of generating digital elevation maps (DEMs) for entry/deorbit, descent, and landing. This system will function as a standalone 3D terrain mapping sensor, mapping from altitudes over 250 m, that can be generalized to various missions and platforms regardless of illumination condition. The AdS-LiDAR uses a highly flexible receiver architecture that allows it to generate DEMs at high speeds (< 4 seconds) with high resolution (1000 x 1000 pixels) without scanning. This is achieved by using a large-format (1080p) DMD that superimposes Walsh-Hadamard (WH) masks on an image of the scene for 3D imaging, exploiting computational imaging (CI) concepts with a single pixel camera architecture. AdS further reduces DEM acquisition time by sampling only the spatial frequencies which are salient. In the Phase I program, we will build and functionally test an AdS-LiDAR breadboard, demonstrating ranging and mapping capabilities.

The Adaptive Sampling (AdS) LiDAR provides high speed, high resolution hazard detection. This standalone sensor generates digital elevation maps (DEMs) of solid solar system bodies including planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. The DEMs are utilized by NASA missions for both entry, descent, and landing (EDL) and deorbit, descent, and landing (DDL). The same technology would also have further application to CubeSat docking missions. The Adaptive Sampling LiDAR system is applicable to hazard detection and avoidance for unmanned airborne vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for both defense and civilian applications. Ranging and mapping are critical for UAV/UUV situational awareness. The AdS-LiDAR system architecture also mitigates the effects of optical scattering, improving performance in challenging environments such as smoke, haze, fog, dust, and turbid water.

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