Analysis and design of safe laser power beaming systems

Laser power beaming comes with safety risks that arise from accidental exposure to intense radiation from the beam. This paper describes PowerLight Technologies’ approach to developing its safety architecture, including definition of a hazard tracking system and a Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) to determine the efficacy of safety layers that can be used to mitigate hazards. An example safety system is provided for ground-to-drone power beaming.