# Spatial images from temporal data

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.01413 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01413/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 2 Dec 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Passive Inter-Photon Imaging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.00059/) (2021)
- [High-speed object detection with a single-photon time-of-flight image sensor](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.13407/) (2021)
- [Video super-resolution for single-photon LIDAR](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.10474/) (2022)
- [Real-time, low-cost multi-person 3D pose estimation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.11414/) (2021)
- [Single-pixel 3D imaging based on fusion temporal data of single photon detector and millimeter-wave radar](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.12439/) (2023)
- [Long-Distance Field Demonstration of Imaging-Free Drone Identification in Intracity Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.20097/) (2025)
- [Semantic Temporal Single-photon LiDAR](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.06008/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Traditional paradigms for imaging rely on the use of a spatial structure, either in the detector (pixels arrays) or in the illumination (patterned light). Removal of the spatial structure in the detector or illumination, i.e., imaging with just a single-point sensor, would require solving a very strongly ill-posed inverse retrieval problem that to date has not been solved. Here, we demonstrate a data-driven approach in which full 3D information is obtained with just a single-point, single-photon avalanche diode that records the arrival time of photons reflected from a scene that is illuminated with short pulses of light. Imaging with single-point time-of-flight (temporal) data opens new routes in terms of speed, size, and functionality. As an example, we show how the training based on an optical time-of-flight camera enables a compact radio-frequency impulse radio detection and ranging transceiver to provide 3D images.