Creating Simulated LIDAR Images of Human Poses in a Virtual Laboratory

LIDAR is a partial 3D standoff sensing method that illuminates a target with rotatory or flash laser beams, analyzes the reflected lights, and provides both the distance to the target’s surface and the target’s surface shape. An array of laser reflections can be used to map the facing-side surface of a target object as a partial point cloud. Unlike a 360° surface model generated by a traditional full body scanner, the partial point cloud from a LIDAR is a viewing angle dependent 3D representation of the target shape. The resolution of these maps depends on the density of the laser detector array; a good image of a human may require hundreds of detection pixels to capture enough detail to clearly detect changes in limb positions.