What is the Sky Scanner? A handy and useful cloud measuring instrument

The Sky Scanner is a high-precision monitoring device that utilises a fisheye lens to automatically capture and save images of the distribution of clouds in the sky without being affected by solar shading and direct sunlight. Equipped with a 5-megapixel high-quality CMOS sensor module, this device is capable of outputting images with a resolution of up to 2,560 x 1,920 and a frame rate of 30 fps.

The imager is equipped with dynamic analysis capabilities, allowing it to clearly record and analyse the distribution of cloud shape and volume in the sky under daytime conditions, which can either be automatically saved and compared and analysed on the device, or uploaded to the cloud for in-depth cloud information recognition using AI algorithms. It has a wide range of applications, including meteorological monitoring, civil aviation management, traffic monitoring, marine research, and smart city construction, among many other fields.

This sky scanner has many advantages, including its high-resolution imaging capability, advanced cloud information processing technology, the ability to record complete sky cloud conditions without the need for solar shading devices, support for Ethernet and Wi-Fi transmission, and the ability to operate and monitor remotely and access multiple cloud platforms. It is also low-power, compact and lightweight, easy to install and use in the field, and waterproof to adapt to all-weather observation needs.

At present, most cloud observation work is carried out in accordance with the "Ground Meteorological Observation Code", relying on manual observation of the shape, quantity and height of the bottom of the cloud at the observation station. Although this method is direct, there is significant subjectivity, and due to human factors, the observation is often intermittent and infrequent, which restricts the ability to monitor the sky clouds and weather changes in real time. In the face of the trend towards automation of meteorological observations, the use of highly automated laser cloud gauges to replace manual observations and achieve continuous and uninterrupted measurements is gradually becoming a new direction in the development of the industry.