Patent ID: 9689667
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: G01B,G01S

Claim:
1. An imaging system for obtaining a time of flight image from a surface, comprising: a light source that transmits a light beam to a surface; a system that includes an array of at least one light sensor; and a pixelated light switch array, the pixelated light switch array comprising a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) having a higher number of switches than a total number of light sensors comprised in the array of at least one light sensors, wherein each switch of the DMD is adapted to deflect incoming portions of a light beam from the surface and to sequentially redirect the incoming portions to the array of the at least one light sensor by a higher number of incoming portions than the number of light sensors; and a computer controller that is adapted to control the switches of the DMD in a manner that enables the imaging system to obtain the time of flight image from the surface, wherein the computer controller is adapted to control switches of the DMD and to govern the sequentially redirected, deflected incoming portions of the light beam, the computer controller including a reception control module that is connected to the DMD and to the array of the at least one light sensor, coordinating the control switches of the DMD to direct a subset of the incoming portions to the array of at least one light sensors to detect in parallel a rise or fall of the light beam to determine a time of flight for each DMD control switch location, a calculator module that calculates a time of flight value of each portion of the light beam received at the one or more light sensors; and an imaging module that calculates a parameter related to the distance travelled by each received portion of the light beam, taking into account the calculated time of flight value, said determined parameter related to the distance of each portion of each light beam being indicative of a spatial point of the illuminated surface.