Fuzzy calibration for pulsed time-of-flight laser rangefinder

A fuzzy approach to real-time calibration of mobile laser rangefinder is presented as an alternative to the methods based on adaptive algorithms. The main error source in such a measurement system is drift error due to the changes of ambient temperature. It may be compensated using repeatedly performed calibration based on the time-of-flight measurement of laser pulse propagating through the constant section of optical fiber. To minimize calibration rate we designed fuzzy calibrator that traces actual changes of drift error and calculates the optimum rate of calibration. This method has been tested using mobile laser rangefinder with 3 cm single-shot accuracy