European Facility For Airborne Research

radar scanner
Surface topography by laser scanning

Distance aircraft - surface

Radar scanner for mapping of surface topography, respectively its roughness.

The rangefinder system is based upon the principle of time-of-flight measurement of short laser pulses in the infrared wavelength region. A laser source generates short infrared laser pulses, which are collimated by the transmitter lens system (telescope).Via the receiver lens, part of the echo signal reflected by the target hits a photodiode which generates an electrical receiver signal. The time interval between transmitted and received pulses are counted by means of a quartz-stabilized clock frequency. The calculated range value is fed into the internal microcomputer which processes the measured data and prepares it for data output.

The angular deflection of the laser beam is realized by a rotating polygon with a number of reflective surfaces. It rotates continuously at adjustable speed to provide an unidirectional scan within an angle of 45°.

The gained information of RANGE, SIGNAL AMPLITUDE, ANGLE, and TARGET COLOR is provided via TCP/IP or an 8 bit parallel data output which can be connected directly to the ECP compatible LPT printer port of a PC, Laptop, or equivalent. The LMS-Q280i is prepared to accept a GPS clock pulse (i.e. 1 pps) for synchronisation.

(copied from manufactorer's webpage: http://www.rieglusa.com/products/lms-q280/e_lms-q280.htm)