Field programmable gate array-based coherent lidar employing the ordinal statistics method for fast Doppler frequency determination

We report the development of a portable coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) system incorporating onboard field programmable gate array for real-time data processing. An ordinal statistic-based mean Doppler frequency estimation algorithm with high accuracy and low computational cost is proposed. The basic characteristics of the proposed method were specified with the use of mathematical modeling through the algorithm, realized as MATLAB computer code that includes parts simulating lidar signals and data processing. A comparison of the proposed method with established and well-used determination methods of the maximum Doppler frequency is accomplished. The ordinal statistics method is easy to implement and facilitates obtaining computational results swiftly. To demonstrate the performance of this lidar system, an intercomparison field campaign between lidar and ultrasonic anemometer is carried out. The excellent degree of correlation experimentally confirmed the feasibility of developing affordable, low-power consumption, compact, and robust CDL systems for various industrial and scientific applications.