Precise Range Estimation on Known Surfaces by Analysis of Full-waveform Laser

Laser range data analysis is of high interest in photogrammetry. Range estimation for complex surface structures can be inaccurate. To overcome this drawback a method using a laser scanner capable of full-waveform analysis is proposed. For analysis the transmitted waveform of the emitted pulse is used to estimate the received waveform of the backscattered pulse for a known surface. We simulated a plane surface with different slopes and a sphere. Typical spatial beam distributions are considered for modeling, namely Gaussian and uniform. The surface response is determined and the corresponding received waveform is calculated. The normalized cross-correlation function in between the simulated and the measured waveform is used for precise range measurement. Additionally the position on the surface can be determined.