Time-of-flight camera

Time of flight of a light pulse reflecting off a target

A time-of-flight camera (ToF camera), also known as time-of-flight sensor (ToF sensor), is a range imaging camera system for measuring distances between the camera and the subject for each point of the image based on time-of-flight, the round trip time of an artificial light signal, as provided by a laser or an LED. Laser-based time-of-flight cameras are part of a broader class of scannerless LIDAR, in which the entire scene is captured with each laser pulse, as opposed to point-by-point with a laser beam such as in scanning LIDAR systems.[1] Time-of-flight camera products for civil applications began to emerge around 2000,[2] as the semiconductor processes allowed the production of components fast enough for such devices. The systems cover ranges of a few centimeters up to several kilometers.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Iddan, Yahav was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Product Evolution". 3DV Systems. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2009-02-19. Z-Cam, the first depth video camera, was released in 2000 and was targeted primarily at broadcasting organizations.