Range-gated cameras are a type of laser cameras that use pulsed lasers as illumination light, and are characterized by
being less affected by rain and fog than laser cameras with a system of serial irradiation.
Working
principle
In
images captured by laser cameras with a serial irradiation or by a searchlight
illumination, the irradiation light is diffusely reflected by the moisture and
dust in the air, such as the space up to the subject. This creates a white haze
in the image and hides the subject. Range-gated
cameras use a pulse for the laser light that they emit (laser light that is
periodically and instantaneously turned on and off), and while this pulsed
light reaches the subject, the shutters on the camera sides are closed. This
method repeats the operation of opening the shutters only at the moment when
the pulsed light returns to the camera sides. This makes it possible to obtain
images of only the subject without receiving diffuse reflections from other
sources such as moisture and dust.