3-D LASER IMAGER

THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY FOR DESIGNING A 3-D LASER IMAGER CONSISTING OF A MODULATED LASER AND A HIGH-FREQUENCY VIDEO CAMERA THAT WOULD BE VERY COMPACT AND HAVE NO MOVING PARTS. THE PROPOSED 3-D LASER IMAGER WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY ONE-TENTH THE SIZE, WEIGHT, AND WOULD HAVE MUCH LOWER POWER REQUIREMENTS THAN MECHANICALLY DRIVEN 3-D LASER SCANNERS WITH COMPARABLE PERFORMANCE. THE PROPOSED IMAGER WILL BE MORE RUGGED, HAVE HIGHER RELIABILITY AND BE PRODUCIBLE AT LOWER COST THEN EXISTING 3-D LASER SCANNERS. THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DOCKING SPACE STATION COMPONENTS, ASSEMBLY TASK AUTOMATION, PLANETARY SURFACE VEHICLE NAVIGATION (MARS ROVER), AND PLANETARY SAMPLE ACQUISITION WILL BE REVIEWED IN THE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS STUDY. ANALYSIS OF PACKAGING ALTERNATIVES AND POWER REQUIREMENTS AND SOURCES WILL CONSTITUTE A SECOND PART OF THE FEASIBILITY STUDY. THE FINAL TASK WILL BE THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF A COMPLETE 3-D LASER IMAGER WHICH WILL BE DOCUMENTED IN THE FINAL REPORT.