Remote thermal detection

We're getting closer. A fist size LIDAR for $250 thanks to the push for self driving cars.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/6...s_2&set=602506

Cheers,
7Q

Can LIDAR detect the small changes in air density due to a thermal?

Motion of particles in the air

On Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 10:50:59 PM UTC-7, Craig Funston wrote:
Motion of particles in the air

Not saying you are wrong, but what lidar unit can detect particles in the air? And from the CEO “I can see what you’re doing with your fingers at 100 meters,� is a statement with obvious intentions to decieve and confuse. "Seeing" is not a word I would associate with lidar, particularly real time. And a 30 hz lidar unit (did they mean 30 khz on their website?) "see's" nothing. Lidar gives you dots in space and their relative relation to each other and the lidar source, then those dots need to be interpreted to give the needed information. Maybe they are doing amazing interpretation, hard to tell from the website. But a 30 hz (or even a 30 khz) lidar gives very, very few data points, particularly from a moving car. So the system is interpreting something from that data to give information of some type, but this is nothing like seeing or vision as we would typically think of it. But it sounds good.
Not to be confused, the self driving car is on it's way and will dramatically change transportation, but that's not really a lidar issue.
And, more to the point of the thread, seeing thermals would change the sport, but would it lessen the fun in any way?

On Friday, September 30, 2016 at 7:22:36 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 10:50:59 PM UTC-7, Craig Funston wrote:
Motion of particles in the air

Not saying you are wrong, but what lidar unit can detect particles in the air? And from the CEO “I can see what you’re doing with your fingers at 100 meters,� is a statement with obvious intentions to decieve and confuse. "Seeing" is not a word I would associate with lidar, particularly real time. And a 30 hz lidar unit (did they mean 30 khz on their website?) "see's" nothing. Lidar gives you dots in space and their relative relation to each other and the lidar source, then those dots need to be interpreted to give the needed information. Maybe they are doing amazing interpretation, hard to tell from the website. But a 30 hz (or even a 30 khz) lidar gives very, very few data points, particularly from a moving car. So the system is interpreting something from that data to give information of some type, but this is nothing like seeing or vision as we would typically think of it. But it sounds good.
Not to be confused, the self driving car is on it's way and will dramatically change transportation, but that's not really a lidar issue.
And, more to the point of the thread, seeing thermals would change the sport, but would it lessen the fun in any way?

I interpret that what they are meaning by 30 Hz is a scene update rate of 30 Hz. That would actually seem much faster than needed for the glider application and would therefore offer a potential for integration over time to improve energy gathering. Remember also that the glider application has no need of resolving individual bugs. We're interested in net signal over a largish volume of space which again provides an integration opportunity over az, el and r.

Didn't the article say something like 100 or 200 meters range? Is that
enough to go through the OODA loop effectively? How wide an area will
be scanned? The wider the area, the sooner a thermal can be detected,
but the more power required to scan the area. How much power is
required vs. how much can the ship provide? Lower power means a
narrower field of view until you're basically blundering into thermals
as on a blue day (not considering observation of ground features).

I think it'll be a long time coming and, when it arrives, it will remove
all challenge from soaring thus further reducing the participants.

On 9/30/2016 9:05 AM, Steve Koerner wrote:
On Friday, September 30, 2016 at 7:22:36 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 10:50:59 PM UTC-7, Craig Funston wrote:
Motion of particles in the air
Not saying you are wrong, but what lidar unit can detect particles in the air? And from the CEO “I can see what you’re doing with your fingers at 100 meters,� is a statement with obvious intentions to decieve and confuse. "Seeing" is not a word I would associate with lidar, particularly real time. And a 30 hz lidar unit (did they mean 30 khz on their website?) "see's" nothing. Lidar gives you dots in space and their relative relation to each other and the lidar source, then those dots need to be interpreted to give the needed information. Maybe they are doing amazing interpretation, hard to tell from the website. But a 30 hz (or even a 30 khz) lidar gives very, very few data points, particularly from a moving car. So the system is interpreting something from that data to give information of some type, but this is nothing like seeing or vision as we would typically think of it. But it sounds good.
Not to be confused, the self driving car is on it's way and will dramatically change transportation, but that's not really a lidar issue.
And, more to the point of the thread, seeing thermals would change the sport, but would it lessen the fun in any way?
I interpret that what they are meaning by 30 Hz is a scene update rate of 30 Hz. That would actually seem much faster than needed for the glider application and would therefore offer a potential for integration over time to improve energy gathering. Remember also that the glider application has no need of resolving individual bugs. We're interested in net signal over a largish volume of space which again provides an integration opportunity over az, el and r.

--
Dan, 5J

On Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 10:50:59 PM UTC-7, Craig Funston wrote:
Motion of particles in the air

Oh, there is some capability in this regard, pollution, smoke, etc. Interesting, but probably not coming to glider cockpit any time soon

Awesome I can't wait!!

On Friday, September 30, 2016 at 6:21:27 AM UTC-5, Tony wrote:
Awesome I can't wait!!

Here comes the end of this world as we know it.

We might as well all just stop flying and start playing Condor. Maybe then we could interest our youth? It's way too hard to soar the way we do it now and making it easier will bring soaring back to the level of popularity we use to enjoy? Or maybe we should remove ourselves from the cockpit and fly remotely?

Boggs