Multi-dimensional laser radars

We introduce the term “multi-dimensional laser radar”, where the dimensions mean not only the coordinates of the object in space, but its velocity and orientation, parameters of the media: scattering, refraction, temperature, humidity, wind velocity, etc. The parameters can change in time and can be combined. For example, rendezvous and docking missions, autonomous planetary landing, along with laser ranging, laser altimetry, laser Doppler velocimetry, are thought to have aboard also the 3D ladar imaging. Operating in combinations, they provide more accurate and safer navigation, docking or landing, hazard avoidance capabilities. Combination with Doppler-based measurements provides more accurate navigation for both space and cruise missile applications. Critical is the information identifying the snipers based on combination of polarization and fluctuation parameters with data from other sources. Combination of thermal imaging and vibrometry can unveil the functionality of detected targets. Hyperspectral probing with laser reveals even more parameters. Different algorithms and architectures of ladar-based target acquisition, reconstruction of 3D images from point cloud, information fusion and displaying is discussed with special attention to the technologies of flash illumination and single-photon focal-plane-array detection.