Impact and visualization of scotomatic glare in central visual field perception.

Strong monochromatic point light sources such as Light Emitting Diodes (LED) or Lasers have been increasingly used in recent decades. This also raises the risk of misuse resulting in glare phenomena and associated visual impairment. The objective of this prospective and partially blinded study was the visualization and characterization of glare-induced scotomas in visual field by dazzling with monochromatic point light sources in terms of disability and discomfort glare.

Simulation of the reflection of a high energy laser beam at the sea surface for hazard and risk analyses.

The application of a high energy laser beam in a maritime scenario necessitates a laser safety concept to prevent injury to personnel or uninvolved third parties from uncontrolled reflections of laser light from the sea surface. Therefore, it is crucial to have knowledge of the amount and direction of reflected laser energy, which varies statistically and depends largely on the dynamics of the wavy sea surface. These dynamics are primarily influenced by wind speed, wind direction, and fetch.

Laser safety assessments supported by analyses of reflections from metallic targets irradiated by high-power laser light.

When using kilowatt-class lasers in outdoor environments, ensuring laser safety turns out to be a complex issue due to the large safety areas that must be respected. For the special cases of collimated or focused laser radiation reflected from ideally flat but naturally rough metallic surfaces, the classical laser hazard analysis is deemed insufficient. In order to investigate the corresponding hazard areas for the aforementioned cases, we performed experiments on laser-matter interactions.