What are the common methods for creating a laser point cloud?

[chambers.keivn]

Hey all,

I'm hoping this is in the right section. Basically I'm interested in creating a laser point cloud, but can't think of the best shape to do it. E.G. shining a laser straight down through a median and having the light scattered into a lot more points. I'd than have a receiver to read these points. Kind of like a 3D scanner, I just cannot figure out the best shape or mirror setup to do this; so I thought I'd reach out to people a lot smarter than myself.

Thanks,
Kevin S. Chambers

 

[chambers.keivn]

Edit:

What is the best way to create multiple laser points to cover a 360 degree area, I'm thing a concaved glass dome.

Thanks,
Kevin S. Chambers

 

[DaveC426913]

I'm not entirely sure what you're describing, so bear with me.

If you're looking to blanket a volume with laser points, I'm not sure how you'd get one laser to scatter to make multiple points, unless you did it over time. Have you seen laser scanner that are typically used at store checkout counters? They are designed to blanket an area with laser light by pointing it at a rotating drum covered in faceted mirrors. Rotate the drum fast enough and you essentially have what I think you're looking for.

 

[mfb]

It is possible to actually split a laser beam - there are elements called beam splitters that make two beams out of one. They are more expensive than more laser pointers I guess, and rotating mirrors look like a better solution, but I don't understand what you want to build either. What is the purpose of the device?

 

[berkeman]

Hey all,

I'm hoping this is in the right section. Basically I'm interested in creating a laser point cloud, but can't think of the best shape to do it. E.G. shining a laser straight down through a median and having the light scattered into a lot more points. I'd than have a receiver to read these points. Kind of like a 3D scanner, I just cannot figure out the best shape or mirror setup to do this; so I thought I'd reach out to people a lot smarter than myself.

Thanks,
Kevin S. Chambers

Edit:

What is the best way to create multiple laser points to cover a 360 degree area, I'm thing a concaved glass dome.

Thanks,
Kevin S. Chambers

Maybe you are thinking about 3D Laser Scanning? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_scanner

.

 

[chambers.keivn]

Maybe you are thinking about 3D Laser Scanning? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_scanner

.

That is what I'm thinking, I'm just curious what type of mirror setup or prism they use to disperse the light.

 

[berkeman]

That is what I'm thinking, I'm just curious what type of mirror setup or prism they use to disperse the light.

If you read the wikipedia article and follow some of the info links, you will see some typical ways of doing the scanning.