lidar
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Physics
| Stands for | Light detection and ranging |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
lidar stands for Light detection and ranging, a physics abbreviation.
Remote sensing method that fires rapid laser pulses and times their reflections to build precise 3D maps of terrain, buildings, forests and roads. Lidar sensors guide many self-driving cars and robots, map flood zones from aircraft and measure atmospheric particles and winds.
Example: Airborne lidar revealed thousands of hidden Maya structures beneath the Guatemalan jungle canopy.
Usage notes
Also written LIDAR or LiDAR; some sources treat it as a blend of "light" and "radar." Apollo 15 astronauts used a laser altimeter to map the Moon in 1971. Phone cameras since 2020 have included small lidar scanners for depth sensing and augmented reality.
Related abbreviations
More physics abbreviations
- IR – Infrared
- ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
- kB – Boltzmann constant
- KE – Kinetic energy
- laser – Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
- LHC – Large Hadron Collider
- LIGO – Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
- maser – Microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
- MHD – Magnetohydrodynamics
- NA – Avogadro constant
- NIF – National Ignition Facility
- NIR – Near-infrared