Ladar scene projector for a hardware-in-the-loop simulation system.

In order to test a direct-detection ladar in a hardware-in-the-loop simulation system, a ladar scene projector is proposed. A model based on the ladar range equation is developed to calculate the profile of the ladar return signal. The influences of both the atmosphere and the target's surface properties are considered. The insertion delays of different channels of the ladar scene projector are investigated and compensated for. A target range image with 108 pixels is generated. The simulation range is from 0 to 15 km, the range resolution is 1.04 m, the range error is 1.28 cm, and the peak-valley error for different channels is 15 cm.