Ladar range image interpolation exploiting pulse width expansion

Laser radar (LADAR) systems produce both a range image and an intensity image. When the transmitted LADAR pulse strikes a sloped surface, the returned pulse is expanded temporally. This makes it possible to estimate the gradient of a surface, pixel by pixel. This paper seeks to find the gradient of the surface of an object from a realistic LADAR return pulse that includes probabilistic noise models. Additionally, optimal and computationally simple interpolation filters are each derived to recover Nyquist-sampled data from data spatially sampled below the Nyquist rate. The filters will then be applied to the embedded information in the gradient to allow the sampling density in the spatial domain to be taken at below the Nyquist criterion while still facilitating an effective 3D reconstruction of an image.

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