Collision Avoidance via Laser Rangefinding

This thesis describes the design of a prototyped collision avoidance sensor for small autonomous vehicles. The system is based on laser rangefinding using time-of-flight, and built using small, low-cost, off-the-shelf components. The key requirement is for terrain mapping in an urban environment on small autonomous vehicles although it can potentially be used for any application that requires rangefinding. The completed scanning laser rangefinding system includes a high power pulsed laser, high-speed timeof-flight measurement device, optical receiver, some optics, high-speed servo, and a microcontroller. System performance was characterized for both rangefinding and scanning functions. The final system design provides operational flexibility and technical knowledge for designing similar rangefinding systems. Thesis Supervisor: Paul A. DeBitetto Title: Senior Member of Technical Staff, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Thesis Supervisor: Sanjay Sarma Title: Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology