Pattern recognition algorithm for laser radar

Using the inverse filtering of the outgoing laser pulse and of the return signal, one can increase the range accuracy of a laser radar for a single pulse. The method was tested experimentally and in the virtual world. A virtual lidar instrument was developed for further studies. The pulse length can vary from 10 ns up to 500 ns for hard targets ranges to remain within 50-cm accuracy. For a gain switched pulse like from a CO2 Doppler lidar with 3 ms pulse duration, the hard target return can be determined with 1-m resolution. For a hard target with an aspect angle to the laser radar, one can determine this angle with sufficient accuracy. The method will be described in detail.