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Military Robots to Gain Advanced Sight
coondoggie brings us a NetworkWorld report discussing iRobot's plans to include Laser Radar technology in their military robots. Quoting:
"Specifically the robot-maker is licensing Advanced Scientific Concepts' 3-D flash Ladar which uses laser beams to scan and process targets. The system has the ability to create a virtual 3D picture of an entire area. IRobot ... believes the technology will provide new navigation and mapping capabilities for future generations of robots and unmanned ground vehicles and pave the way for autonomous vehicles to lead convoys into dangerous territory, search contaminated buildings for casualties, or enable bomb squads to safely investigate suspicious objects."
I was pretty sure the word "unmanned" was used mentioned, as well as the idea that these devices would go where it was too dangerous for humans to go. Back to detective classes for you!
I hate printers.
I'd have to question your "returned power decreases as the fourth power of the distance" claim. ...
With lidar, you have a coherent focused beam on the way there.
Not with a flash LIDAR. There's one big broad flash spread by a beam spreader, not a mechanically scanned narrow beam. I'm amazed that it works over substantial distances. There aren't that many photons coming back per pixel. They don't spread the beam very wide; 1 to 9 degrees is typical for the longer ranged units. At shorter ranges, a wider beam can be used. The detectors have to be really good. They use GaInAs, not PIN diodes. The semiconductor device physics behind this thing is impressive.
I know about the SwissRanger thing; it doesn't have enough range for outdoor operation, but it's a nice little package. That thing modulates an array of LEDs at 20MHz or so, then measures the phase shift of the returned signal in a detector array of about 10K pixels. That thing ought to sell for webcam prices, but it's made by hand in Switzerland and costs too much.
The original article posted to Slashdot doesn't say much; you have to check the ASC web site and read the papers to see how it works.
Having said that, a *huge* problem with LIDARS (like RADARs or any other active sensors) in a military environment is that carrying a LIDAR is the same as carrying a homing device for any basic IR-targeted bomb/missile.
IF you're looking 250 meters your flash LIDAR would get a return within 1.7 microseconds. If you create a 1.7 microsecond flash at a frequency of 10Hz you're only emitting 0.0017% of the time.
Let's say the light you pulse is as bright as a 100kW bulb (i.e. a thousand 100W bulbs). With that duty cycle it would be the equivalent of a 1.7 watt bulb. That ain't much for a missile to lock onto.
Just my $0.02.