Patent US 6,421,132

A method of range imaging a scene includes directing a planar light beam onto a first portion of the scene, receiving a first reflected light stripe from that portion of the light beam on a row of sensors which emit responsive electrical signals. The first electrical signals are employed to create a salient feature containing saliency map with the salient feature being spatially related to the reflected light stripe. The light is subjected to sweeping to progressively create a plurality of light beams and reflected stripes leading to corresponding electrical output signals. This is repeated a plurality of times to establish the range image. In a preferred embodiment, a linear array of sensors has a winner-take-all circuit which selects a salient feature and employs that along with angle and time information to create an element of the image with repetition of the method generating the full range image. The light is preferably laser light and the sweeping action is preferably continuous through a plurality of cycles. Corresponding apparatus is provided.