A novel methodology for detecting cloud particles is disclosed herein. This methodology exploits the optical glory phenomenon. According to one embodiment, a method for detecting clouds includes receiving data from a sensor which is configured to measure polarization of scattered light in a direction substantially opposite to the direction of incident light, and identifying, from the received sensor data, a cloud based on the polarization of the scattered light.

Provided are a cooperative polarization skylight background radiation measurement device and method, belonging to the field of polarized radiation remote sensing. The device includes a measurement probe, a lower computer control system, a two-dimensional turntable, a base and data transmission interface, as well as an upper computer. The method includes the following steps: the cooperative skylight background radiation polarization measurement device is initialized, a polarization wheel is returned to a zero position, and dark noise is collected by a double-path spectrometer; then a measurement mode is selected for measurement; and finally, spectral polarization data of each wave band acquired by the double-path spectrometer and a division-of-focal plane polarization camera is transmitted to the upper computer through a data line, original spectral light intensity data is calculated according to a measurement principle, and finally a degree of polarization and an azimuth angle of polarization are obtained.

In one embodiment, a particle sensor on or in a vehicle is provided. The laser particle sensor comprises an optical system; a processing system coupled to the optical system; wherein the optical system is configured to transmit one or more laser light beams to detect particles in a volume of freestream fluid, and to have the one or more light beams terminate on a portion of the vehicle on which the optical system is mounted; and wherein the optical system is configured to receive a backscattered portion of the one or more laser light beams transmitted by the optical system.

Systems and methods for detecting gases, airborne compounds, and other particulates, are provided. The system detects materials of interest, including but not limited to, volatile organic compounds, aerosols, particulates, and biological and other pathogens in a three dimensional volume over an area of interest. The system detects the concentration of analytes of interest in the presence of atmospheric contaminants. Data points form a three-dimensional point cloud to which particle swarm optimization and feature extraction algorithms are applied, providing leak detection, mapping of chemical plumes, and short-term and long-term flux measurements, among other functions.

The present invention relates to a measurement system for calculating visual range using perspective and geometrical information of an image captured by a camera, CCTV, camcorder, or other imaging device and a method for measuring visual range from a non-linear function through pattern recognition on an image. The present measurement system and method may make up for uncertainty due to assumption that aerosol is evenly distributed and limit to measurement space in the optimal measurement method, thus offering more objective data.

A simulator and test method of polarization transmission in sea fog belong to the technical field of polarization transmission characteristics. The simulator comprises an emitting device, a receiving device, a main box body, an automatic light alignment system, a water fog layer calibration system, a salt fog layer calibration system, and an aerosol layer calibration system. In accordance with the present disclosure, the automatic alignment of polarized light and a relatively stable sea fog environment are simulated in an indoor environment, the accuracy of indoor simulation is improved, the conformity between measured data and a theoretical simulation result is superior to 80%, and a reliable technical support is provided for the sea surface detection.

A rain and fog testing apparatus, comprising a fluid channel that runs between a first fluid shutoff coupler and a second fluid shutoff coupler and has at least one dispersion head fluidly coupled to the fluid channel. A liquid pump can be fluidly coupled to the fluid channel at an output end. A liquid heater may also be fluidly coupled to the system along with a controller that provides electrical control of the first fluid shutoff coupler, the second fluid shutoff coupler, the dispersion head, the liquid pump, and the heater. Further, the second fluid shutoff coupler is capable of fluidly coupling a first fluid channel to a plurality of fluid channels and the controller can adjust the orientation of the first fluid shutoff coupler, the second fluid shutoff coupler, the dispersion head, the liquid pump, and the liquid heater to create a simulation of a plurality of rain or fog events.

A shared optics and telescope, a filter, and a micropulse differential absorption LIDAR are provided, with methods to use the same. The shared optics and telescope includes a pair of axicon lenses, a secondary mirror, a primary mirror including an inner mirror portion and an outer mirror portion, the inner mirror portion operable to expand the deflected annular transmission beam, and the outer mirror portion operable to collect the return signal. The filter includes an etalon and a first filter. The micropulse differential absorption LIDAR includes first and second laser signals, a laser transmission beam selection switch, a first laser return signal switch, and a toggle timer.

A particle detection system including; at least one light source adapted to illuminate a volume being monitored at at least two wavelengths; a receiver having a field of view and being adapted to receive light from at least one light source after said light has traversed the volume being monitored and being adapted to generate signals indicative of the intensity of light received at regions within the field of view of the receiver; a processor associated with the receiver adapted to process the signals generated by the receiver to correlate light received at at least two wavelengths in corresponding regions within the field of view of the receiver and generate an output indicative of the relative level of light received at the two wavelengths.

A method for detecting atmospheric icing potential comprises emitting, by a Doppler lidar (light detection and ranging) entity, electromagnetic radiation to the atmosphere and receiving radiation backscattered from the aerosol, such as a cloud, present in the atmosphere. From the received backscattered radiation, an indication of the icing potential at a number of distances, on the basis of the comparison and an indication of the temperature at the one or more distances, is determined.