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Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a
Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The ...
beam. The laser guidance of a robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...
is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key idea is to show goal positions to the robot by laser light projection instead of communicating them numerically. This intuitive interface simplifies directing the robot while the visual feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...
improves the positioning accuracy and allows for implicit localization. The guidance system may serve also as a mediator for cooperative multiple robots.
Examples of proof-of-concept experiments of directing a robot by a laser pointer are shown on video.
Laser guidance spans areas of robotics, computer vision
Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the human ...
, user interface, video games, communication and smart home technologies.
Commercial systems
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. may have been using this technology in robotic vacuum cleaners since 2014.Google Inc.
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. It ...
applied for a patent with USPTO on using visual light or laser beam between devices to represent connections and interactions between them (Appl. No. 13/659,493, Pub. No. 2014/0363168).
However, no patent was granted to Google on this application.
Military use
Laser guidance is used bymilitary
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
to guide a missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...
or other projectile or vehicle to a target by means of a laser beam (Lidar
Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...
), e.g. beam riding
Beam-riding, also known as Line-Of-Sight Beam Riding (LOSBR) or beam guidance, is a technique of directing a missile to its target by means of radar or a laser beam. The name refers to the way the missile flies down the guidance beam, which is a ...
guidance or semi-active laser homing (SAL).
This technique is sometimes called SALH, for Semi-Active Laser Homing. With this technique, a laser is kept pointed at the target and the laser radiation bounces off the target and is scattered in all directions (this is known as "painting the target", or "laser painting"). The missile, bomb, etc. is launched or dropped somewhere near the target. When it is close enough for some of the reflected laser energy from the target to reach it, a laser seeker detects which direction this energy is coming from and adjusts the projectile trajectory towards the source. While the projectile is in the general area and the laser is kept aimed at the target, the projectile should be guided accurately to the target. However, SALH is not useful against targets that do not reflect much laser energy, including those coated in special paint which absorbs laser energy. This is likely to be widely used by advanced military vehicles in order to make it harder to use laser designators against them and harder to hit them with laser-guided munitions. An obvious circumvention would be to merely aim the laser close to the target. Countermeasure
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
s to laser guidance are laser detection systems, smoke screen, anti-laser active protection systems.
See also
*Guidance system
A guidance system is a virtual or physical device, or a group of devices implementing a controlling the movement of a ship, aircraft, missile, rocket, satellite, or any other moving object. Guidance is the process of calculating the changes in po ...
* Laser rangefinder
A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...
* List of laser articles
This is a list of laser topics.
A
* 3D printing, additive manufacturing
* Abnormal reflection
* Above-threshold ionization
* Absorption spectroscopy
* Accelerator physics
* Acoustic microscopy
* Acousto-optic deflector
* Acousto-optic ...
* List of laser applications
References
{{Robotics Robot navigation Missile guidance Laser applications