Distance measurement systems and methods

A method for determining a distance to an object, the method comprising:

• emitting a light pulse in a direction towards an object;
• receiving a return reflection of the light pulse from the object;
• generating an analog signal for the return reflection using an optical sensor;
• amplifying the analog signal using a logarithmic amplifier;
• filtering the analog signal using an antialiasing filter;
• converting the analog signal to a plurality of digital signal samples at a signal sample rate;
• performing a cross-correlation between the plurality of digital signal samples and a template that has a template sample rate that is faster than the signal sample rate;
• and
• determining a distance to the object based at least in part on the cross-correlation.

A laser scanner comprising:

• a laser light source configured to output laser light;
• an optical sensor for generating analog signals from return reflections of the laser light that is reflected by objects;
• an analog to digital converter configured to convert the analog signals to digital signal samples;
• and
• a processor configured to process the digital signal samples to determine time-of-flight information.

A laser scanner comprising:

• an optical sensor configured to generate analog signals
• an analog to digital converter configured to convert the analog signals to digital signal samples having a signal sample rate between about 200 million samples per second and about 600 million samples per second;
• and
• and a processor configured to analyze the digital signal samples to determine a distance to an object with a distance resolution of about 5 mm to about 75 mm.