A new laser range-finder based on FMCW-like method

A synthesis on laser range-finding techniques is first presented, giving the methods, the performance and the correlated applications. Then, a research in progress in our laboratory on a new laser range-finder method is focused on: the frequency beat detection, derived from the FMCW radar ranging technique. The beam intensity is modulated by a sine-wave wobulated by a chirped waveform, and final detection after mixing the emitted and echoing waves gives a frequency beat proportional to the distance. The experimental set-up is described in details with the main functional blocks. Experimental results and performance are finally discussed to find improvements and specific applications.