Spinoff Applications for Coherent LIDAR

Space-Based:

• Global profiling of wind velocity, aerosol concentrations, and DIAL measurements of water vapor and other molecular concentrations. Cloud frequency and characteristics
• Global change research - model inputs and validation
• Numerical weather prediction - safety and fuel savings for air and sea transportation, prevention of severe weather related loss of life and property, agriculture assistance, military planning and logistics
• Wind profiling of Mars and other solar system bodies from orbiting or surface platforms
• Spacecraft automated rendezvous, stand off operations, docking, and capture
• River flow, height, and width measurements
• Pollution - study, abatement strategies, and enforcement
• Nuclear weapons - nonproliferation monitoring and treaty enforcement
• Remote sensing missions to other planets

 

Aircraft-Based:

• Take-off and landing: wind shear and wake vortex detection; clear air turbulence warning
• Cruising: route optimization for fuel efficiency, true airspeed, angle of attack, and sideslip angle measurement
• Collision Avoidance
• Volcanic ash detection and avoidance (using polarization)
• Taxi way obstacle detection and avoidance
• "Ground truth" measurements for orbiting instruments
• Flight Testing
• High speed commercial aircraft: inlet unstart warning and control

 

Ship-based

• Route optimization for fuel efficiency

 

Ground-Based:

• Miscellaneous:
  • River flow, height, and width measurement
  • Wind profiling for improved shuttle launch and landing safety
  • Wind profiling for ELV launch optimization
  • Wind field mapping to study effects of orographic features on planned or existing structures
  • Wind field mapping for optimum siting of energy producing windmills
  • Meteorological data acquisition
  • Laboratory research lasers
  • "Ground truth" measurements for orbiting instruments
• Airport
  • Airport monitoring of wind turbulance, wind shear, and wake vortices
• Automotive
  • Improved law enforcement monitoring of vehicle speed and location
  • Velocity and range remote sensing for collision avoidance
  • Doppler, range, reflectance imaging for automatic vehicle guidance
  • Wind mapping for coefficient of drag reduction research
  • Remote measurement of exhaust flow rate and composition
  • Fuel and coolant flow rate measurement
  • High speed motion measurement of engine components
• Medical:
  • Non-invasive blood flow rate monitoring in arteries, veins, retinas, etc.
  • Non-invasive Doppler imaging of internal organs
  • Diagnostics during surgery
• Pollution Abatement:
  • "Over the fence" pollution monitoring
  • Mass flow rate measurement of high stack emissions
  • Wind field mapping for pollution transport determination
• Military:
  • Wind measurements for improved targeting for military ordnance, and for parachute dropped personnel and supplies
  • Weapon fire control
  • Rocket launch wind monitoring
  • Improved weather prediction for planning and logistics
  • Nuclear weapon nonproliferation monitoring
  • Take-off and landing: wind shear and wake vortex detection; clear air turbulence warning
  • Cruising: route optimization for fuel efficiency, true airspeed, angle of attack, and sideslip angle measurement
  • Automatic Target Recognition (ATR)
  • Identification, Friend or Foe (IFF)

paul.meyer@msfc.nasa.gov

Responsible Official: Dr. James E. Arnold (jim.arnold@msfc.nasa.gov)
Page Curator: Diane Samuelson (diane.samuelson@msfc.nasa.gov)