Vol. 56, Issue 2, pp. 233-245 (2026)

Abstract

LiDAR emits and receives laser beams to perceive three-dimensional spatial information, providing support for environmental perception. Scintillation, Distortion, and drift occur on the laser beams when they propagate through strong atmospheric turbulences even for short distances. Methods to eliminate or mitigate the impacts of strong turbulences on laser beams can effectively enhance the LiDAR accuracy, which are of great significance for automotive autonomous driving application requiring high precision in short-range measurements. This paper investigates the anti-turbulence performance of the Bessel beams as they transmit in strong atmospheric turbulences over short distances. Compared to Gaussian beams, Bessel beams demonstrate greater resistance to strong turbulences, which is due to their self-healing property, more concentrated intensity distribution, and smaller beam divergence angle. The scintillation and distortion of the Bessel beam is an order of magnitude and 20% lower than those of the Gaussian beam, respectively, as they propagated through strong turbulences of the same strength. The beam drift caused by strong turbulence is characterized by the maximum beam drift range, and its radius for the Gaussian beam is twice the radius for the Bessel beam. This research contributes to enhancing the measurement accuracy of LiDAR systems in autonomous vehicles under conditions of strong turbulence.