ProLaser III Operator's Manual
Page
3
FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
The ProLaser III is a versatile instrument that
measures both the range and velocity of selected targets.
The advanced technology of the ProLaser III provides
pinpoint aiming capability, allowing the operator to isolate
a single vehicle out of a group. In addition, operation of
the ProLaser III is completely invisible to conventional
radar detectors, used by many motorists to avoid
enforcement. The technology employed in the ProLaser III
also renders laser detection devices relatively ineffective
due to the pinpoint accuracy of the system.
Rather than microwave transmission employed by
traditional traffic radar systems, the ProLaser III uses
invisible light waves that are much higher in frequency.
Because the wavelength of these light waves is so much
shorter than microwaves, they can readily be collimated
(or focused) into an extremely narrow beam for absolute
target identification. The signal transmitted by the
ProLaser III travels in a straight line of sight, as opposed
to the "fringing" effect that is characteristic of microwave
emissions.
The technology used by the ProLaser III to measure
distances and speeds is referred to as
lidar
, which stands
for
li
ght
d
etection
a
nd
r
anging. When the trigger is pulled,
the ProLaser III sends out hundreds of invisible infrared
laser light pulses per second. As each pulse is
transmitted, a timer is started, and when the energy of a
laser pulse is reflected from a target and received by the
ProLaser III, the timer is stopped. From the elapsed time
taken for the laser pulse to strike and return from the
target, the distance to the object is calculated with the
known speed of light through the atmosphere. If the
target is moving with respect to the ProLaser III, a
sophisticated algorithm is used to derive the speed of the
target from a successive number of range calculations.
This speed determination is then displayed to the
operator.
