Retroreflection Safety Principles and Retrorereflective Measurements

13 August 2012 by RoadVista

Retroreflectivity, or retroreflection, is an optical phenomenon in which reflected rays of light are preferentially returned in directions close to the opposite of the direction from which the rays came. This property is maintained over wide variations of the direction of the incident rays. Retroreflection is achieved through multiple reflections within a retroreflector. Common retroreflectors are cube corners and microspheres of glass or plastic.

Retroreflection is used for highway safety and measuring distance. The method used for measuring distance is called time-of-flight measurement, which can be used for great distances. In time-of-flight measurements, the distance from light source to target is determined by measuring the time it takes light to travel to the target and return to the sensor.

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