Panasonic Corporation has developed a time-of-flight (TOF) image sensor that uses avalanche photodiode (APD) pixels and is capable of capturing range imaging of objects up to 250m even at night with poor visibility. The sensor can be applied in a variety of fields, including automotive range imaging and wide-area surveillance in the dark. The TOF refers to the time-of-flight of light. Common TOF range consists of a light source and a light detector. The light emitted from the light source hits a subject and the reflected light arrives at the detector. During this period, the light is travelling at the speed of light. The distance to an object can be calculated by measuring the time-of- flight of light as the speed of light in the air is constant.
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