Near Field Ranging for Robotic Vision Applications

目前机器人视觉的研究主要集中在二维图形的识别上。然而，在许多应用中，深度感知能力是一个基本特征。原则上，深度感知可以从立体视觉或全息重建中推导出来，但解释信息所需的算法极其复杂，需要大量的计算。本研究提出了一种更简单的测距方法，该方法基于通过光栅观测到的点源衍射图的峰的相对位置随着点源与光栅之间距离的变化而变化。这种现象已经在视觉频率上被观察到，应该可以扩展到微波频率。使用毫米波，仪器的灵敏度范围应该在1米到1000米之间。所提出的研究还将在光学和微波频率上进行详细的实验，作为开发这种测距仪器的基础。

Current research in robotic vision is focused mainly on the recognition of two dimensional patterns. In many applications, however, depth perception capability is an essential feature. In principle, depth perception can be deduced from stereoscopic vision or from holographic reconstruction, but the algorithm required to interpret the information is extremely complicated and requires substantial computation. This research proposes the development of a much simpler method of ranging based on the observation that the relative position of the peaks of a diffraction pattern due to a point source observed through a grating are found to shift as the distance between the point source and grating is changed. This phenomena has been observed at visual frequencies and should be scalable to microwave frequencies. Using millimeter waves, an instrument should have a range of sensitivity from about 1 to 1000 meters. The proposed research sill carry out detailed experiments at optical and microwave frequencies as a basis for developing such a ranging instrument.