Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics in cooperation with the Leibniz institutes IHP and FBH
Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics in cooperation with the Leibniz institutes IHP and FBH

3D Camera

© Fraunhofer ISIT

3D camera with a depth resolution of a few millimeters

In the field of optical MEMS, Fraunhofer ISIT has developed a 3D camera with a depth resolution of a few millimeters based on 2D MEMS scanners. Existing 3D imaging systems based on focal plane arrays with modulated light sources suffer from limited resolution, relatively high energy consumption of the light sources, and possible interference with other systems, which means that they do not meet current requirements, such as in the field of autonomous driving. These limitations can be overcome by using a MEMS scanner with a directional laser beam.

 

Current LiDAR scanning systems with electrostatic MEMS achieve a scan angle of 40° in both directions. In comparison, the new generation of piezoelectrically driven MEMS scanners from Fraunhofer ISIT can achieve extreme optical scan angles close to 180° in resonant operation due to the high torque provided by the piezoelectric material. The achievable scanning speed and the ability to integrate two scanning axes in a very compact device are fundamental advantages of MEMS scanners over conventional galvanometric scanners. In addition, the special design and the material used for the mirror drives offer very long running times and are insensitive to external vibrations.

Specifications:

  • Resolution: 450 pixels x 450 pixels
  • Frame rate: 6 fps (currently limited by the viewing software)
  • Detection range: 0.1 m - 8 m
  • Relative depth measurement accuracy: 5 mm - 10 mm
  • Sampling rate: 80 MHz
  • UDP Ethernet interface
  • The laser beam is directed at the scanning mirror at an angle of 22.5°

The MEMS scanner from Fraunhofer ISIT has already been used in the joint project Wide-Angle-LiDAR, which realized a high-resolution wide-angle lidar system for vehicle environment detection. The pulsed laser source, including control electronics, was supplied by the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik FBH, while the Fraunhofer IMS developed capture optics with pre-processing electronics. The integration of the individual components into a complete system was carried out by the company OQmented, a spin-off from Fraunhofer ISIT.

 

Find more information directly on the Fraunhofer ISIT website:

https://www.isit.fraunhofer.de/de/mems-anwendungen/optische-systemen-neu/3d-kamera-Neu.html