SBIR Phase I: Dynamic 2D Depth Oriented Y-Z (X-Z) Opto-electronic Position Detector Using Photo Sensitive Semiconductor and Laser Light

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to verify the concept of the innovation and clarify the systems and critical component requirements for building a single instrument to detect the position of an object in motion in a depth oriented 2D space. The instrument will have output signals that identify the position of the object in the different directions from a base location. The instrument will use a laser light to illuminate the object with and photosensitive semiconductor to translate the reflected image into a signal. Measuring the distance with a laser beam and digitizing images are examples of two uses of similar technologies. However, they are limited to flat digital pictures or flat x-y coordinate systems. Detecting the position of an object in a depth oriented two-dimensional Y-Z field of view requires multiple instruments and complex and expensive systems. The application of this research is primarily in the area of automated manufacturing process control but may also apply to architecture for digitizing art and other stationary objects. The technology available to detect and locate objects in a two-dimensional depth oriented Y-Z (or X-Z) field of view is still in its infancy. This research aims to improve the understanding of the methods with which to detect and monitor the 2D depth oriented position of objects that are of non-metallic materials such as plastic, paper, rubber, fabrics, as well as rocks.