Distance Measurement and Data Analysis for Civil Aviation at 1000 Frames per Second Using Single-Photon Detection Technology

During high-speed maneuvers, aircraft experience rapid distance changes, necessitating high-frame-rate ranging for accurate characterization. However, existing optical ranging technologies often lack simplicity, affordability, and sufficient frame rates. While dual-station triangulation enables high...

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Main Authors: Yiming Shan, Xinyu Pang, Huan Wang, Jitong Zhao, Shuai Yang, Yunlong Li, Guicheng Xu, Lihua Cai, Zhenyu Liu, Xiaoming Wang, Yi Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/13/3918
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author Yiming Shan
Xinyu Pang
Huan Wang
Jitong Zhao
Shuai Yang
Yunlong Li
Guicheng Xu
Lihua Cai
Zhenyu Liu
Xiaoming Wang
Yi Yu
author_facet Yiming Shan
Xinyu Pang
Huan Wang
Jitong Zhao
Shuai Yang
Yunlong Li
Guicheng Xu
Lihua Cai
Zhenyu Liu
Xiaoming Wang
Yi Yu
author_sort Yiming Shan
collection DOAJ
description During high-speed maneuvers, aircraft experience rapid distance changes, necessitating high-frame-rate ranging for accurate characterization. However, existing optical ranging technologies often lack simplicity, affordability, and sufficient frame rates. While dual-station triangulation enables high-frame-rate distance calculation via geometry, it suffers from complex and costly deployment. Conventional laser rangefinders are limited by low repetition rates. Single-photon ranging, using high-frequency low-energy pulses and detecting single reflected photons, offers a promising alternative. This study presents a kilohertz-level single-photon ranging system validated through civil aviation field tests. At 1000 Hz, relative distance, velocity, and acceleration were successfully captured. Simulating lower frame rates (100 Hz, 50 Hz, 10 Hz) via misalignment merging revealed standard deviations of 0.1661 m, 0.2361 m, and 0.2683 m, respectively, indicating that higher frame rates enhance distance measurement reproducibility. Error analysis against the 1000 Hz baseline further confirms that high-frame-rate ranging improves precision when monitoring high-speed maneuvers.
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id doaj-art-b697414a4f324af7a3736ef453659bf5
institution OA Journals
issn 1424-8220
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Sensors
spelling doaj-art-b697414a4f324af7a3736ef453659bf52025-08-20T02:36:31ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-06-012513391810.3390/s25133918Distance Measurement and Data Analysis for Civil Aviation at 1000 Frames per Second Using Single-Photon Detection TechnologyYiming Shan0Xinyu Pang1Huan Wang2Jitong Zhao3Shuai Yang4Yunlong Li5Guicheng Xu6Lihua Cai7Zhenyu Liu8Xiaoming Wang9Yi Yu10Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Changchun 130033, ChinaChangchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaDuring high-speed maneuvers, aircraft experience rapid distance changes, necessitating high-frame-rate ranging for accurate characterization. However, existing optical ranging technologies often lack simplicity, affordability, and sufficient frame rates. While dual-station triangulation enables high-frame-rate distance calculation via geometry, it suffers from complex and costly deployment. Conventional laser rangefinders are limited by low repetition rates. Single-photon ranging, using high-frequency low-energy pulses and detecting single reflected photons, offers a promising alternative. This study presents a kilohertz-level single-photon ranging system validated through civil aviation field tests. At 1000 Hz, relative distance, velocity, and acceleration were successfully captured. Simulating lower frame rates (100 Hz, 50 Hz, 10 Hz) via misalignment merging revealed standard deviations of 0.1661 m, 0.2361 m, and 0.2683 m, respectively, indicating that higher frame rates enhance distance measurement reproducibility. Error analysis against the 1000 Hz baseline further confirms that high-frame-rate ranging improves precision when monitoring high-speed maneuvers.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/13/3918TCSPC technologyhigh-speed target measurementlaser radar
spellingShingle Yiming Shan
Xinyu Pang
Huan Wang
Jitong Zhao
Shuai Yang
Yunlong Li
Guicheng Xu
Lihua Cai
Zhenyu Liu
Xiaoming Wang
Yi Yu
Distance Measurement and Data Analysis for Civil Aviation at 1000 Frames per Second Using Single-Photon Detection Technology
Sensors
TCSPC technology
high-speed target measurement
laser radar
title Distance Measurement and Data Analysis for Civil Aviation at 1000 Frames per Second Using Single-Photon Detection Technology
title_full Distance Measurement and Data Analysis for Civil Aviation at 1000 Frames per Second Using Single-Photon Detection Technology
title_fullStr Distance Measurement and Data Analysis for Civil Aviation at 1000 Frames per Second Using Single-Photon Detection Technology
title_full_unstemmed Distance Measurement and Data Analysis for Civil Aviation at 1000 Frames per Second Using Single-Photon Detection Technology
title_short Distance Measurement and Data Analysis for Civil Aviation at 1000 Frames per Second Using Single-Photon Detection Technology
title_sort distance measurement and data analysis for civil aviation at 1000 frames per second using single photon detection technology
topic TCSPC technology
high-speed target measurement
laser radar
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/13/3918
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