About Lidar Laser (light detection and ranging) – Inphenix Inc. inphenix.com

Lidar is an acronym for “light detection and ranging.” It is sometimes called “laser scanning” or “3D scanning.” Lidar is used in many industries, including automotive, infrastructure, robotics, trucking, UAV/drones, industrial, mapping, and many more. Because lidar is its own light source, the technology offers strong performance in a wide variety of lighting and weather conditions.

A typical lidar sensor emits pulsed light waves into the surrounding environment. These pulses bounce off surrounding objects and return to the sensor. The sensor uses the time it took for each pulse to return to the sensor to calculate the distance it traveled.

The functioning of LiDAR technology is very similar to that of RADAR technology. However, there are numerous distinctions between them.