Neuromorphic cameras as event-driven scintillometers for boundary-layer turbulence characterization.

Authors

Pablo Garrido, Marco Sepúlveda, Esteban González, Darío G Pérez

Published in

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision. Volume 43. Issue 7. Pages C45-C51. Jul 01, 2026.

Abstract

Image-plane scintillation concentrates at high-contrast boundaries, where turbulence-induced wavefront distortions are amplified by local intensity gradients-precisely where neuromorphic event cameras are most sensitive. We exploit this physical correspondence to estimate the refractive-index structure constant Cn2 over near-ground horizontal paths (∼200-300m) without an active transmitter, a co-located scintillometer, or a trained regression model. Relative irradiance sequences reconstructed by event-only temporal integration yield pixel-wise scintillation indices that are inverted through a spherical-wave model. Four field campaigns spanning two seasons and daytime through nighttime regimes, validated against a sonic anemometer, confirm hourly agreement within a factor of 1.2-4× under well-illuminated conditions. Mechanical vibration from wind loading and insufficient scene contrast are the limiting conditions, pointing toward mount stabilization and active target illumination for continuous 24 h operation.

PMID:
42863028
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Oct 2026.

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