Ground vehicle based LADAR for standoff detection of road-side hazards

In recent years, the number of commercially available LADAR (also referred to as LIDAR) systems have grown with the increased interest in ground vehicle robotics and aided navigation/collision avoidance in various industries. With this increased demand the cost of these systems has dropped and their capabilities have increased. As a result of this trend, LADAR systems are becoming a cost effective sensor to use in a number of applications of interest to the US Army. One such application is the standoff detection of road-side hazards from ground vehicles. This paper will discuss detection of road-side hazards partially concealed by light to medium vegetation. Current algorithms using commercially available LADAR systems for detecting these targets will be presented, along with results from relevant data sets. Additionally, optimization of commercial LADAR sensors and/or fusion with Radar will be discussed as ways of increasing detection ability.