Laser sensor watches for the watchers

Popular Science : In combat, knowing you are being watched is just as important as being able to watch your enemy. San Diego-based defense contractor Torrey Pines Logic is developing a robotic system that can determine when someone is using a viewing device to look toward the system. The Beam 100 Optical Detection System uses laser pulses with a range of just over 1000 m in a 360-degree field of view. When the pulses are reflected back to the system, it examines the light for the signature characteristics of optical glass. Optical glass could be any sort of lens used in binoculars, cameras, or even rifle scopes. If it detects a reflection that it judges to be optical glass, it informs the user and indicates the direction and distance. The device is designed purely as a detection system; the use of lasers or other weapons specifically to blind is forbidden by international law.