Demonstration of real-time structured-light depth sensing based on a solid-state VCSEL beam scanner

We demonstrated a real-time scanning structured-light depth sensing system based on a solid-state vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) beam scanner integrated with an electro-thermally tunable VCSEL. Through a swept voltage added to the tunable VCSEL, a field of view of 6 degrees x12 degrees could be scanned with a scanning speed of 100 kHz by the beam scanner. Adopting the beam scanner, the real-time depth image with a lateral resolution of 10,000 (20x500) was obtained by measuring a step target placed at 35cm. The frame rate could be >10Hz even if sunlight shot noise is artificially added to the experimental data. By using a higher-speed camera, a potential lateral resolution could be reached at 50,000 (100x500) with a frame rate of > 20Hz. By using flat optics, a compact scanning module offering line pattern with FoV of > 40 degrees x20 degrees was also demonstrated. It could help to realize high-resolution and high-accuracy structured-light sensing with a compact module. (c) 2021 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

In this paper, a real-time scanning structured-light depth sensing system based on a solid-state VCSEL beam scanner and an electro-thermally tunable VCSEL is demonstrated. The system is capable of capturing real-time depth images with a wide field of view and high resolution. By using a higher-speed camera, even higher resolution and faster frame rates can be achieved.