LIDAR application on commercial aircraft

[Astronuc]

Boeing and Japan's Space Agency Are Testing LIDAR on Aircraft
http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/news/a27595/boeing-japan-space-agency-develop-lidar-planes/

LIDAR, The equivalent of radar, but with lasers, could help aircraft track weather

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2017-08-02-Boeing-and-JAXA-to-Flight-test-Technology-to-Improve-Safety

While LIDAR is used frequently on aircraft and satellites for science research, such as U.S. Geological Survey terrain scans, it has yet to be implemented to a large degree on commercial aircraft.
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LIDAR is one of the cornerstones of self-driving car technology, and it's used in conjunction with radar, cameras and other sensors to allow the vehicle's computer to "see" the world it navigates.

 

[sophiecentaur]

Such a lightweight system would be very handy. However, the problem with all optical frequency (and thereabouts) systems is that they can suffer from huge path losses through clouds where Radio Frequencies will give return echoes through many layers of cloud. So you'd still need both systems on board, I think. (Not a problem, though)
In self drive cars, an optical system would be subject to fog and heavy rain attenuation. But the upside is that such a system would drive you at safer speeds than typical over-optimistic human drivers can manage to do. 5mph would get you there safely, eventually and actually stop you when appropriate. Should give the passengers a rosy glow to feel that safe.