The design enables precise short-range measurements, high frame rates, and adaptability across industrial and automotive sectors.
The MT LiDAR, a multi-triangulation reference design from Newsight Imaging, provides a solution for 3D scanning. Using multi-triangulation technology, it achieves high accuracy in short-distance measurements. This technology supports high frame rates and allows configurability for different applications and scenarios. The MT LiDAR, which utilizes the NSI1000 sensor, showcases the capabilities of multi-triangulation technology for client assessments.
This design’s applications are broad, especially in the context of Industry 4.0. It can enhance quality inspection processes, contribute to factory automation, and improve process control, impacting operations and efficiency across various industrial settings.
The reference design can also be used in the automotive industry, offering benefits for applications from autonomous driving to vehicle safety systems. Its capability for high-accuracy, short-distance measurements is advantageous for obstacle detection and distance mapping, which are critical in developing autonomous vehicles.
The MT LiDAR has features that enhance its utility in various settings. It can map multiple depth points on a line, supporting up to 32 points with a resolution from 20 um to 1 mm. It operates at a frame rate of 3000fps, handling 32 concurrent points effectively. This system is suitable for distances between 5cm and 5m and can generate a complete 3D map in a single scan. The sensor’s high frame rate enables real-time responses, making it ideal for continuous production monitoring and structural inspections.
Multi-triangulation technology uses laser triangulation, where a laser projects light onto a target and measures distance by calculating the angle of the returned light. This technology is beneficial in smart manufacturing applications that require precise short-range measurements. It is also effective in part and assembly production inspection processes, as it can provide accurate data for low-contrast objects through 3D inspection and measurement.
The technology is implemented in the company’s NSI1000 area sensor, using the capabilities of CMOS sensors. These sensors use an array of pixels to identify distances while minimizing reflections and noise. The NSI1000 offers advantages for laser triangulation, including a high frame rate, high sensitivity, and precise detection range. It enables multi-triangulation using an array of 32 triangulations of 1024 pixels across 32 channels or a single line of 2048 pixels for enhanced distance or resolution triangulation. The chip is versatile and capable of operating in various modes and switching methods from a range detector to a regular camera and an illumination sensor on the fly through software programming.
The package includes the Newsnight NSI1000 sensor and RDC board, a software suite compatible with Windows 10 on PC, and an onboard ST MCU featuring an ARM Cortex-M4 processor. It also includes an imaging lens with a bandpass filter and an onboard laser driver with a mounted line laser, providing tools for deployment in various applications. To read more about this reference design, click here.
