LIDARLIght Detection And Ranging

What can you measure with LIDAR?

• distance • speed • rotation • chemical composition and concentration

of a remote target, which can be either a clearly defined object, such as a vehicle, or a diffuse object, such as a smoke plume or clouds.

Examples of LIDAR

Laser speed gunsSource: www.howstuffworks.com

• Doppler LIDAR (used in laser speed guns) - used for calculating speed of a target (can also be used to remotely measure true wind velocity)

• Range finders - used for calculating distance to a target

• DIfferential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) - used for measuring molecular concentrations in the atmosphere

Laser range finderSource: www.robosoft.fr

Laser Range Finder Example3-D Sweeping laser range finder from www.activrobots.com

• Laser typically measures distances up to 32 mused at 5m for obstacle avoidance

• Laser scans up to 180 degrees / tilts +/- 90 degrees • Resolution: 20 mm• Interface: RS-232 Serial Interface• Data Transfer: 38.4 Kbaud• DIMENSIONS: 155 x 185 x 156 mm (WxHxD)• Weight: 4.5 kg• Input Voltage: +24 VDC• Power Consumption: max. 17.5 W • Pan-Tilt Speed: 150°+ per second in each joint • Requires onboard computer

The Sweeping Laser's 2 ½-D view of the precipice and surrounding obstacles