SAL is looking for project partners in the fields of meteorological sensors and/or LIDAR system development for the development of a novel fog and visibility backscattering sensor, based on a SAL scheme, which, different from state-of-the-art compact sensors, shows no perturbation from surrounding objects at distances larger than about 1m. The visibility sensor will be small and compact, competitive in price with respect to state-of-the-art sensors, and suitable to be mounted on moving vehicles and objects (e.g. robots). It will also be suitable for integration into LIDAR devices for instantaneous, sensor-based assessment of the reliability range of the LIDAR detection, and, eventually, to provide feedback for adjustments (e.g., suitable increase of LIDAR emitted intensity at intermediate visibilities).
FOGS4MV: FOG AND VISIBILITY SENSOR FOR MOVING VEHICLES
Partner Call open until: May 1, 2025
Project Start: Q3 2025
SAL is looking for project partners for the further development of a novel fog and visibility sensor, based on a SAL idea. Following the initial proof-of-concept phase, which already took place in the SAL labs, we are now looking for partners in the fields of meteorological sensors and/or LIDAR system development for the miniaturization and further development of the concept into a compact and deployable visibility sensor.
Our visibility sensor works in backscattering geometry, which allows its miniaturization and simple integration on a moving vehicle and/or into existing LIDAR devices. It only requires about 1 m free optical range in front of the sensor for estimation of the visibility, and is not perturbed by objects at larger distances located in front of it. Accordingly, it can be mounted on moving vehicles (e.g., autos) without loss of functionality. With the current implementation, visibilities up to 0.5km can be monitored, with planned improvements by the implementation of a stronger light source.
Final objectives of the project are:
- Design and realization of a small and compact working prototype characterized by an environmental robust assembly (target: < 50x50x10 mm sensor head)
- Integration into existing platform/sensor fusion/ …, depending on the business case of the partner
- Field tests
Expected results
- Next-generation compact fog and visibility sensor, suitable for installation on moving vehicles and objects
- Integration into existing (LIDAR) platform
