From Event: SPIE Security + Defence, 2021
The operation of a coherent Doppler lidar, developed by NASA for missions to planetary bodies, is analyzed and its projected performance is described. The lidar transmits three laser beams at different but fixed directions and measures line-of-sight range and velocity along each beam. The three line-of-sight measurements are then combined in order to determine the three components of the vehicle velocity vector and its altitude relative to the ground. Operating from over five kilometers altitude, the NDL provides velocity and range data with a few cm/sec and a few meters precision, respectively, depending on the vehicle dynamics. This paper explains the sources of measurements error and analyzes the impacts of vehicle dynamics on the lidar performance.
© (12 September 2021) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Farzin Amzajerdian, Diego F Pierrottet, Aram Gragossian, Glenn D. Hines, Bruce W. Barnes, Lance L. Proctor, and Nathan A Dostart, "Performance of Doppler lidar velocity and range sensor operating in highly dynamic environments," Proc. SPIE 11866, Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems: Technology and Applications XVIII and Electro-Optical Remote Sensing XV, 118660X (Presented at SPIE Security + Defence: 12 September 2021; Published: 12 September 2021); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2600348.6269367086001.