Since 2004, we have partnered with Kentucky based Carlson Software as a licensed manufacturer and distributor of their Industrial Laser Module (ILM) in support of the North American Aerospace and Defense Industry.
ILMs use pulsed time-of-flight technology to deliver highly accurate distance and presence information over long or short ranges. The laser module can also use the range to trigger external devices, such as cameras or warning systems. They are used widely by system integrators, especially for military, security and traffic management applications
Use as a Laser Altimeter
The lightweight and compact nature of these modules have made them an especially popular choice for integration as an altimeter, incorporated into fixed-wing as well as rotary platforms for both manned and unmanned flight. It has been utilized as part of the Assisted Takeoff and Landing System (ATOL) for the Predator and other UAVs, a tool for crop spraying in the agricultural aviation industry (mindrumlasers.com), as well as a standard altimeter for a variety of other aviation applications. While these modules are frequently combined with a cockpit display, they can also work as stand-alone units to give a fully functioning end-user system.
They can be used as a source of data that allows the aircraft control system to calculate:
- Height (direct from the laser)
- Rate of descent (by monitoring the height over time)
- Height during banked maneuvers (by using ranging information from the laser together with information from tilt sensors)
Predator Drone
Agricultural Plane
Firefighting Helicopter
Predator Drone
Licensed from Carlson Software
Available ILM Variants
Standard
The ILM-R (range) variant averages 20 individual range measurements, providing a stable measurement at a rate of approximately 9 Hz.
High Repetition
The ILM-HR (high repetition) variant does not average ranges, the range output rate is 400 Hz consisting of 400 individual range measurements.
Trigger Sensor
The ILM-T (trigger) variant is configured to provide a trigger signal to external devices when the range to the target is within a customer defined trigger window.
