Engineers at NASA have found more than one use for their Laser Scaling and Measurement Device for Photographic Images (LSMDPI). This device, contained in a small black box, was initially designed to provide a non-intrusive means of adding a scale to a photograph of an object in space when there is no size reference. Twin lasers, an inch apart, shoot from the box, and add scale to photographs. In other words, the laser offers the ability for someone to look at these special photographs and have a better understanding of just how big or small objects really are. For example, engineers will use this to measure the distance from one part of the shuttle to a dent from a hailstorm.

Since the LSMDPI weighs only a half-pound and can be attached directly to a camera’s tripod, it can also be used on Earth in crime and accident scene investigations. “I think that the greatest contribution that the Laser Scaling Measurement software offers to law enforcement is it ‘un-cuffs’ the investigators hands with digital image evidence by facilitating fast and accurate measurement analysis of anything in a crime scene photo, not just the intended target,” said Kim Ballard, NASA electrical design engineer. Additional uses include oil and chemical tank monitoring or aerial photography. Read more about this exciting new technology.

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