COMPRESSIVE SCANNING LIDAR

A method for increasing resolution of an image formed of received light from an illuminated spot includes measuring a y vector for measurement kernels A1 to AM, where M is a number of the measurement kernels, measuring the y vector including programming a programmable N-pixel micromirror or mask located in a return path of a received reflected scene spot with a jth measurement kernel Aj of the measurement kernels A1 to AM, measuring y, wherein y is an inner product of a scene reflectivity f(α,β) with the measurement kernel Aj for each range bin ri, wherein α and β are azimuth and elevation angles, respectively, repeating programming the programmable N-pixel micromirror or mask and measuring y for each measurement kernel A1 to AM, and forming a reconstructed image using the measured y vector, wherein forming the reconstructed image includes using compressive sensing or Moore-Penrose reconstruction.