The primary objective of this proposed work is to study the feasibility and build a prototype of a high speed, low-cost, multi-mode 3D ranging system for robotics and other applications. The Color-ranger system provides capabilities that no other currently available 3D rangefinder achieves. This system is able to capture full frame 3D range data at the frame rate of the camera. Therefore, it is suitable for high speed, real-time robotics applications. Since there are no mechanical moving parts in our Color-ranger system, the mechanical design can be very simple and reliable. All components in this system are available off-the-shelf which leads to low cost. With the active light source turned on, the color camera can provide 3D range data, and with the active light source turned off, the same camera provides normal intensity images. This multi-mode capability greatly simplifies the problems of multiple sensor integration and sensor data fusion. Depending on the applications, the scope of the color spectrum of LVWF can be selected from 400 to 750 nm in visible light region. The Color-ranger system is not based on a laser therefore there are no eye safety problems. This is certainly desirable for wide range of medical applications, for collision avoidance in mobile vehicles, and for other applications.
