Abstract

Significant advances have been made in recent years in lidar theory and hardware. The first of these advances is of special interest to the US Army because it allows extinction calculation from a single laser pulse in low visibility with more certainty than previous methods have allowed. Advances in electronics now allow bulky transient digitizers and computers to be reduced to a hand-held, battery-operated lidar that automatically measures slant visual range at the push of a button with no other inputs. The hand-held lidar, called a visioceilometer, allows the measurement of cloud ceiling height and visibility (Lentz, 1982; Bonner and Lentz, 1979). This lidar is intended for tactical support where visibility and cloud ceiling height are required.

© 1985 Optical Society of America