Fieldranging

Fieldranging refers to the set of techniques used to determine the distance from a reference point to targets within a defined field, often for mapping, navigation, or measurement tasks. The term is used across disciplines such as surveying, robotics, astronomy, and geophysics, and can denote both contact and non-contact distance measurements.

Methods commonly employed include active sensing approaches such as time-of-flight lidar and radar, which emit signals and measure return time; ultrasonic and acoustic ranging for shorter ranges; and radio-based multilateration or time-difference-of-arrival systems. Passive methods include stereo vision and photogrammetry, which infer range from image data; structure-from-motion techniques reconstruct 3D structure from multiple viewpoints.

Applications include autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance in robotics and vehicles; geospatial surveying and mapping; construction and industrial automation; and scientific experiments requiring precise distance measurements.

Challenges include dependence on line of sight, surface reflectivity, atmospheric conditions, and calibration needs; varying accuracies across ranges; and cost and complexity trade-offs.

See also concepts such as range finding, ranging, lidar, radar, photogrammetry, and triangulation. Fieldranging is often described in conjunction with profiling an environment or scene, or with the calibration of measurement systems.