Characterization of the GLDT laser range finder

This paper presents a characterization study of the GLDT laser range finder (LRF). The LRF has long measuring range and high angular resolution. It is necessary to characterize the scanner before it is installed on our rescue robot which will work in unstructured indoor and outdoor environments. Besides examining the drift and how the distance affect the measurement accuracy, this paper also characterizes the LRF and analyzes the effect of several target properties, such as color, incidence angle, brightness and material, by measuring the distance to a target. Furthermore, a man-made smoke environment is employed to investigate whether its accuracy is affected in fire disasters. From the experimental results, a calibration model is also proposed to measure the accurate distance to a target.