Events Calendar

ECE PhD Prospectus Defense: Ruangrawee Kitichotkul

Title: Single-Photon Lidar: Statistical Analysis, High-flux Imaging, and Velocimetry

Presenter: Ruangrawee Kitichotkul

Advisor: Professor Vivek Goyal

Chair: Professor W. Clem Karl

Committee: Professor W. Clem Karl, Professor Vivek Goyal, Professor Prakash Ishwar

Google Scholar Link: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SV4mQbYAAAAJ&hl=en

Abstract: Single-photon lidar (SPL) measures time-of-flight by transmitting short laser pulses and timestamping the returning photons. Probabilistic modeling has played a key role in developing computational methods for SPL. Following this tradition, the proposed series of works addresses estimation challenges in three operational regimes. First, we will develop a joint estimator for signal flux, background flux, and depth in the conventional low-flux static setting. Second, we will extend this estimation framework to high-flux conditions, accounting for detector dead-time effects in the free-running mode. Finally, we will introduce a detection model incorporating target velocity, enabling SPL-based velocimetry for the first time. For all problems, we will derive Cramér-Rao bounds to benchmark estimator performance.