Runway weather sensor Optic Eye™

for airportcompact

Precipitation Sensor This extremely compact ITS Technology device doesn’t only measure precipitation intensity in general, it also classifies rain, snow, sleet and drifting snow. Infrared beams forming a horizontal cross alter in intensity when being exposed to various kinds and quantities of precipitation. The Optic Eye registers and analyses the precipitation situation continously and can be connected to any host system via a serial port. The Optic Eye can also form the basis for a low cost aqua planning warning system. OpticEye™ is a precipitation sensor. It measures precipitation intensity and amount, differentiates between rain, snow and sleet, and detects snow drifts. The detector consists of two light rays which form a horizontal cross. The light rays are produced by Led’s of IR type and the intensity of each respective light ray is registered by photo detectors. Precipitation causes brief reductions in the intensity of the light rays. In addition to the quantity of precipitation per time unit, the different types of precipitation are registered. To decide the precipitation type the sensor needs information about the wind speed, air temperature and humidity. With this input data the sensor continually registers and analyses the falling precipitation. The OpticEye™ uses wind compensation algorithms to get the best accuracy. The communication with the host system is performed serially via RS232.