Review of ToF Approaches

Arxiv.org paper "An Overview of Depth Cameras and Range Scanners Based on Time-of-Flight Technologies" by Radu Horaud, Miles Hansard, Georgios Evangelidis, and Clement Menier from INRIA Grenoble, Queen Mary University of London, and 4D View Solutions mostly repeats 2016 paper published by Springer.

"Time-of-flight (TOF) cameras are sensors that can measure the depths of scene-points, by illuminating the scene with a controlled laser or LED source, and then analyzing the reflected light. In this paper, we will first describe the underlying measurement principles of time-of-flight cameras, including: (i) pulsed-light cameras, which measure directly the time taken for a light pulse to travel from the device to the object and back again, and (ii) continuous-wave modulated-light cameras, which measure the phase difference between the emitted and received signals, and hence obtain the travel time indirectly. We review the main existing designs, including prototypes as well as commercially available devices. We also review the relevant camera calibration principles, and how they are applied to TOF devices. Finally, we discuss the benefits and challenges of combined TOF and color camera systems."