Modeling and calibration of 3D-Time-of-Flight pulse-modulated image sensors

Scannerless 3D-Time-of-Flight image sensors serve to acquire three-dimensional (3D) information of objects in a scene. This contribution is devoted to modeling and calibration of scannerless 3D-Time-of-Flight image sensors based on pulse modulation. After a short description we introduce a 3D image sensor model that includes system nonlinearities due to nonideal photodetectors and signal processing circuitry. This is followed by the model defined for the nonideal light source waveform. The influence of these nonlinearities on the sensor responsivity and, hence the distance calculation will be shown. Finally, based on our findings we propose an efficient calibration procedure for the proposed distance measurement system.