What Is LIDAR

If you’re interested in astronomy and telescopes then you will find it quite interesting to know what LIDAR is. LIDAR stands for Light Detection And Ranging. This system incorporates remote optical sensing technology. This remote optical sensing technology is actually capable of measuring the properties or characteristics of scattered light. The main purpose of this is to establish range as well as other vital properties of a destination or target that is far away. This type of technology has delivered countless benefits for a wide range of industries and areas of interest, including geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, atmospheric physics and much more. In addition, this type of technology features a notable sensitivity to both aerosols and cloud particles which is one of the reasons why it is often used with atmospheric research and meteorology.

The most common means of determining the distance to another body is to use pulses created by lasers (which actually makes for quite a visual spectacle). Interestingly, it is this use of the laser pulses to essentially bounce off other objects that makes it quite similar to the fundamentals of radar technology. The distance to another body is established through the measuring of the amount of time passed between the sending of the laser pulse and when the reflected signal is received back.

The power of this technology makes it especially helpful for airborne laser swath mapping, laser altimetry, contour mapping and much more. You may also have heard LADAR mentioned. This is usually mentioned within the realm of military speak and stands for laser detection and ranging. You may also hear this referenced as a laser radar. LIDAR differs from radar in that LIDAR makes use of significantly shorter wavelengths found within the electromagnetic spectrum. These wavelengths are usually ultraviolet, visible, or somewhere near the infrared range.

One of the reasons why this system has been so helpful is that it solves the problem of weak or almost no detectable reflection from items such as non-metallic objects such as rain, rocks and even very small objects which might otherwise not show up at all on radar. Since laser beams feature significant density they have the power to produce a reflection even from these minute objects.