Patent 9222873 was granted and assigned to Droplet Measurement Technologies, LLC on December, 2015 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An optical device mounted on the interior of an aircraft for distinguishing the morphology of individual atmospheric particles, identifying them as water droplets, ice crystals, dust particles or volcanic ash, including a source of collimated, polarized light and providing this information to the flight crew to assist them in making informed decisions on conditions that might impact aircraft performance.