Development of a 3D LADAR system for autonomous navigation

A novel approach for the development of a 3D laser radar (LADAR) system for vehicle guidance is presented. A rotating mirror assembly is used to deflect the beam scan of a 2D laser to obtain the 3^rd dimension. The mirror assembly is constructed by joining six mirrors to form a hexagon-shaped reflector. By rotating this mirror assembly in front of the 2D laser, 3D range images of the scene in front of LADAR are obtained. The data is processed to detect obstacles; the purpose-built user interface shows a top and front view of the 2D obstacle map, plus the 3D modeling of the environment. The system has been tested in both indoor and outdoor environments and the results are presented. The deployment of this perception system, on a mobile platform, has been implemented to guide an autonomous mobile platform.