Depth resolution improvement of streak tube imaging lidar using optimal signal width

Streak tube imaging lidar (STIL) is an active imaging system that has a high depth resolution with the use of a pulsed laser transmitter and streak tube receiver to produce three-dimensional (3-D) range images. This work investigates the optimal signal width of the lidar system, which is helpful to improve the depth resolution based on the centroid algorithm. Theoretical analysis indicates that the signal width has a significant effect on the depth resolution and the optimal signal width can be determined for a given STIL system, which is verified by both the simulation and experimental results. An indoor experiment with a planar target was carried out to validate the relation that the range error decreases first and then increases with the signal width, resulting in an optimal signal width of 8.6 pixels. Finer 3-D range images of a cartoon model were acquired by using the optimal signal width and a minimum range error of 5.5 mm was achieved in a daylight environment. (C) 2016 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)