Light Detector

A light detector is a device or device component that is used to recognize the presence of light, often with the goal of initiating a process in response to light.

A light detector in such a device recognizes the presence and intensity of light and initiates a process that changes the screen brightness for ease of viewing.

One light detector may, for instance, be made to detect any light at all while another may only detect certain colors.

Light detectors are often designed to detect and respond to very different levels of light intensity as well.

A cryogenic light detector, for example, is intended to detect and measure the energy of individual photons while many detectors for personal use only respond to light that is, by comparison, very intense.

It is not uncommon for an outdoor light, for instance, to have a light detector that enables it to automatically turn on or off based on the presence of light. Likewise, a camera might incorporate a light detector that automatically determines whether or not to activate the flash.

More complex robots may use light detectors to guide them to fires or to other specific sources of light.