Accurate LRF timestamps are essential for successful sensor fusion

The fusion of sensors allows to overcome the limitations of the different sensors in order to obtain more information and improve the performance of the overall system. For the end user, this information improvement means better and faster decisions. A basic example of rangefinder fusion is the combination LRF (laser rangefinder) with a camera sensor. The camera is used to visually detect the object and the LRF provides the range information for it. This combination makes it possible to identify and accurately locate the object, which for the end user means that better and faster decisions can be made about how to proceed.

All new generation Ultisense rangefinders use an internal clock and provide a timestamp function that indicates the time (in microseconds) when the distance measurement was taken. The timestamp is sent along with the measurement data when the function is enabled. Using the LRF in combination with a camera is a typical example of sensor fusion.

Two different timestamp variants can be selected: Timestamp variant 1 displays the timestamp from the middle of the measurement. Timestamp variant 2 sends the timestamp from the beginning of the measurement and from the end of the measurement.