ELI5 LiDAR - how it sees the world?

ELI5 Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast

What is LiDAR? Why is it helpful in addition to seeing things through cameras? How does LiDAR time-of-flight measure distance when light travels so fast—what tricks give picosecond precision? Why can LiDAR detect single-photon returns from angled surfaces, yet mirrors and shiny objects cause false readings? What are some surprising places LIDAR is used that most people wouldn’t expect?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: mmomtchev, lexi_bean21, already_______taken, isnomad, gurumeditationerror, sniper1rfa, 317locc, doxysqrl410.

To the community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com


More description

What is LiDAR? Why is it helpful in addition to seeing things through cameras? How does LiDAR time-of-flight measure distance when light travels so fast—what tricks give picosecond precision? Why can LiDAR detect single-photon returns from angled surfaces, yet mirrors and shiny objects cause false readings? What are some surprising places LIDAR is used that most people wouldn’t expect?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: mmomtchev, lexi_bean21, already_______taken, isnomad, gurumeditationerror, sniper1rfa, 317locc, doxysqrl410.

To the community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com


2025-08-15 7 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.