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Rogue Wave Alarm

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Simply a put, a few lasers shining out onto the horizon, which let off an alarm whenever they hit something. Sort of like the laser alarms in a banks vault. They should not hit anything, as they will be shining well above the water line. This will be located on a tower, with a leveling system to prevent the ships rocking from forcing the lasers to contact the waterline. The lasers will always be level with the earth.

Possible problem: birds flying in front of the laser.

I just watched a show on the History channel about Rogue waves, and they seem very real considering all the sources and incidents.

EvilPickels, Jan 14 2010

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       They're real enough. The problem you will have is that your system will only detect such waves as they cross the true horizon - depending on how tall your vessel is, that will vary a lot. And then you have to confirm if it's a real alarm, and then maneuver out of the way - no easy task for a big vessel, and if you react to every alert as real you would potentially waste a lot of time and fuel.   

       Satellite imaging or expendable buoy networks might be better.
8th of 7, Jan 14 2010
  

       With suitable modulation of the beam, and a sensor to detect the reflected light, you might be able to measure the distance to the rogue wave too.
Wrongfellow, Jan 14 2010
  

       Wave radar; or just Wadar
DenholmRicshaw, Jan 14 2010
  

       //Wadar// havoc for anyone who can't pwonounce their "r"s.
DrWorm, Jan 14 2010
  

       These lasers would be mounted on land, not boats. A laser beam can't set off an alarm unless there's a sensor at the far end. Birds though could be ignored because interuption would be momentary vs. Sustained. I bun ya.
Mustardface, Jan 15 2010
  

       I'm with [8th of 7], I'm not convinced these happen often enough to be worth the expense, one of his systems seems more reasonable.
Germanicus, Jan 15 2010
  

       "Watch out; that rogue is waving at us again!"
pertinax, Jan 16 2010
  

       I googled wave but am still none the wiser.
Incidentally, I thought that people were installing early warning sensors on the sea bed in strategic locations for just this sort of thing.
gnomethang, Jan 17 2010
  

       How about a Rouge Wave Alarm for detecting over- friendly Communists?
Aristotle, Jan 17 2010
  

       As long as Sarah Palin isn't attached to it, I'd buy it ;-)
blissmiss, Jan 17 2010
  

       I suppose the laser tracker could detect the relative positions of hand, elbow and smile. Trigonometric algorithms compute a score based on velocity and seperation, with HM the Q as a fixed reference. If the score deviates more than a set amount, a klaxon sounds.
pocmloc, Jan 17 2010
  
      
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