Skip to main content

World launch for MDL's 'super' sensor

A new series of miniature, high accuracy laser-based range and velocity measurement sensors could soon be used on police vehicles to check speeding motorists. There are many other applications for the RVMS Range and Velocity Measurement System from Measurement Devices (MDL). Evaluation models will be available soon.
July 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new series of miniature, high accuracy laser-based range and velocity measurement sensors could soon be used on police vehicles to check speeding motorists.

There are many other applications for the RVMS Range and Velocity Measurement System from Measurement Devices (6221 MDL Laser Systems). Evaluation models will be available soon.

Dr Paul Rivers, MDL's commercial engineering and development manager, said that by using innovative (patented) measurement technology, objects passing through the sensing beams will deliver both range and velocity data. Object passing time can also be measured.

"Imagine a computer mouse which tracks the arrow on a monitor. Lift it off the table by tens of metres and you have a 3-D motion detector. This is the basis of our sensor," said Dr Rivers.
"Normally for distance measurement you require two lasers usually on a gantry, but with the RVMS only one laser is required for a fixed speed installation.

"If the unit is mounted in a fixed position it will measure the speed of things passing across the beam. Equally if it is mounted underside of a vehicle the true speed it moves across the surface can also be measured.

"The sensor opens up a wide range of applications, for example, in traffic flow management and production process monitoring."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Surface quality a key trend in asphalt paving
    March 7, 2012
    Improved surface quality and improved machine design are key trends in the asphalt paving sector, Mike Woof reports There is a big difference in asphalt paving techniques in North America and Europe. In North America, the need to construct long stretches of highway quickly resulted in wide pavers offering high throughput capacity, with compaction equipment then being used to achieve the required density of the various courses. In Europe's highway construction projects, distances tend to be shorter and contr
  • Weigh-in-motion key to maximising road life
    February 24, 2012
    The market and technology for weigh-in-motion systems continues to evolve – Mike Woof writes. for both mature and developing highway infrastructure networks, traffic densities play an important role in determining road wear and life. Monitoring traffic volumes and individual vehicle weight is crucial for ensuring roads can cope in the long term and that maintenance can be planned, while the problem of overloading can be eliminated.
  • Variable message signs deliver real time travel information
    April 10, 2012
    Variable Message Sign systems are helping ease traffic congestion and keeping drivers better informed on key highways across Europe and the rest of the world. Guy Woodford looks at some of their recent applications By coupling its Intelligent Travel Time System (ITTS) with Bluetooth technology, Alcatel-Lucent is measuring traffic flow in real time and conveying it seamlessly to local authorities in the French city of Vélizy-Villacoublay. The city, a major business enterprise hub 14km south-west of central
  • Optimising operations with construction software gains
    May 20, 2015
    Innovations in construction software are helping boost project efficiency and optimising project operations – Clive Davidson writes Over the past decade, while construction engineers have been putting up buildings or infrastructure, software engineers have been developing a parallel universe where virtual buildings or infrastructure can be created in ever increasing detail. What started with 2D architectural drawings in computer-aided design (CAD) systems, has become a multi-dimensional world, with 3D ge