Hello guys.
I am a student working on a computer vision system and I need some help for a lightweight laser system to be build on a small flying robot.
My idea is to horizontally project 50-100 points (splitter) which are to be seen on a robot's camera. The reason I don't want a line laser is that the intensity falls linearly and a 10-meter reflection won't be visible on the camera. I suppose that the wavelength is not so important and the laser power could compensate for the camera color specificity. I also guess that using a narrow filter (passing only the laser wavelength) in front of the camera would greatly clear the image but it looks much cheaper just to rise the laser power more.
I tested some Chinese 5mW 650nm laser with my current CMOS 720p camera. The point is visible from 10-15m so a 500mW laser divided on 100 beams looks reasonable without using any filters.
I don't know what and where to order because of the following problems:
-- I need a ~90 degrees of divergence but the Frankfurt laser (from above link) gives only ~20 degrees. Is there wider splitters or is it tricky to use lens in front of the splitter?
-- The "designed wavelength" of the splitter is written to be 633nm. Is it possible to use different wavelengths and what changes in such case?
-- Frankfurt lasers don't seem to be the cheapest but I hardly find alternatives;
-- I don't know how to choose compatible parts and how to arrange them (laser module + splitter + lens(?) + filter(?) + camera).
I will appreciate any suggestions about the design of the system as well as the shops to order from.
Thank you,
Petar Ivanov
I am a student working on a computer vision system and I need some help for a lightweight laser system to be build on a small flying robot.
My idea is to horizontally project 50-100 points (splitter) which are to be seen on a robot's camera. The reason I don't want a line laser is that the intensity falls linearly and a 10-meter reflection won't be visible on the camera. I suppose that the wavelength is not so important and the laser power could compensate for the camera color specificity. I also guess that using a narrow filter (passing only the laser wavelength) in front of the camera would greatly clear the image but it looks much cheaper just to rise the laser power more.
I tested some Chinese 5mW 650nm laser with my current CMOS 720p camera. The point is visible from 10-15m so a 500mW laser divided on 100 beams looks reasonable without using any filters.
I don't know what and where to order because of the following problems:
-- I need a ~90 degrees of divergence but the Frankfurt laser (from above link) gives only ~20 degrees. Is there wider splitters or is it tricky to use lens in front of the splitter?
-- The "designed wavelength" of the splitter is written to be 633nm. Is it possible to use different wavelengths and what changes in such case?
-- Frankfurt lasers don't seem to be the cheapest but I hardly find alternatives;
-- I don't know how to choose compatible parts and how to arrange them (laser module + splitter + lens(?) + filter(?) + camera).
I will appreciate any suggestions about the design of the system as well as the shops to order from.
Thank you,
Petar Ivanov