(starklasers) Entwicklung von Laser-Pointer Attacks

As long ago as 2003, the US Department of Transportation conducted a study titled “The Effects of Laser Illumination on Operational and Visual Performance of Pilots Conducting Terminal Operations,”2 in which test pilots were subjected in a simulator environment to various levels of laser power while conducting takeoff/departure maneuvers. In tests with a 5-µW/cm2 level of exposure (corresponding to “glare” and the legal exposure limit in a 10-nautical-mile radius of airports), more than 33 percent of subjects reported effects including difficulty in banking properly, leveling off or dipping the nose slightly; hesitation; and even momentary loss of sight of the instrument panel. At a 50-µW/cm2 level of exposure, the effects were more severe and more common, with more than 10 percent of subjects losing sight of the instrument panel during take-off and one subject actually handing over control to the co-pilot in the simulator during visual approach (in the tests, a co-pilot was present but was not subjected to the laser effects).1000mW laserpointer

This study was conducted with green laser light (532 nm), and the vast majority of the documented laser-pointer attacks on pilots occur at night and employ green laser pointers. The choice of color is motivated by the sensitivity of the eye, an important effect both to the attackers (they want to see the beam hitting the target) and to the victims. The photopic response (light adapted) of the human eye, as sensed by cone receptors, peaks at green wavelengths. This effect is further exaggerated with night vision (dark-adapted, scotopic response employing rod receptors), with the eye’s sensitivity to green light even further enhanced (Figure 23).

In a low-light scenario, this sensitivity to green light increases the likelihood of disruption resulting from glare. The green-sensitive receptors can be overwhelmed by a burst of sufficiently bright green light creating “flash blindness,” as the eye is much slower to adapt to changes in intensity or color in scotopic vision.Laserpointer

Although the effects observed from a “legal” laser pointer are disturbing enough, because of modification and mislabeling, these devices can be more powerful than the specified <0.5-mW eye-safety rating and may also be missing the internal 1064-nm optical filter that provides protection from more powerful and potentially eye-damaging invisible near-IR radiation.

And because of the distances involved in aviation-related laser-pointer incidents, the opportunity for eye damage resulting in incapacitation of the pilot is minimal with “legal” laser pointers. However, the potential for eye damage and the dangers from the other effects escalate substantially from higher-power laser pointers available from online sources. Online examples include laser pointers marketed at prices from $15 to $700 advertising power levels up to 2 W, with ranges of as much as 50 km. At these power levels, pointers can be used as weapons, as they can cause immediate permanent eye damage.laserpointer 5000mw

On the ground, law enforcement personnel face different scenarios when confronted with laser-pointer attacks, which are often in close proximity to the officer in crowd-control situations and often employ different-colored pointers (including red and the high-power blue lasers now available). Effects such as glare and startle are less critical than for transportation operators, but the chances are greater for eye damage and for the use of these pointers as true weapons.

(cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)

(cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)