Does the Cyber Trucks facetted design mean that it might have stealth characteristics?.

ejay

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I can not help notice that the Cyber Truck shares a lot in common with the F117 Night Hawk.
Sharp edges, Flat surfaces that from every angle never face back at you.
(No mater what direction you look at it (all aspects) nothing seems to be at an angle that would reflect back at you.) accept the edges where the panels change direction and those edges are sharp so that the amount of surface is minimised/ concentrated.
As far as I can tell, there are No Square cavities to trap and return. (Look up Radar reflectors and how they work)
No door handels protruding.
The underneath of the truck even looks to be stealthy with no parts hanging under the truck..
The lack of side mirrors is also stealthy if you think about it.

Will the Cyber Truck be stealthy to radar based speed cameras and guns? not invisible but perhaps harder to get a read using current guns at long and medium distances.
Keep in mind these guns are fairly low tech and low power (unlike a military radar) Their receivers would not be designed to detect a vehicle that is sending back fractions of the signal a normal car would.
Would it also be hard to see using LIDAR (Laser range finder type guns)?
If it is hard to detect using LIDAR this would make all the LIDAR based autonomous vehicles unusable if the cyber truck is on the road already.
Over 90 percent of stealth is the shape and surface qualities. The the RAM ( Radar absorbent paint only a small part). ( I wonder if anyone will start selling RAM for cyber trucks.)
Will someone paint a cyber truck with VANABLACK ?
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No. Not at all. Even if you paint it in radar absorbing materials. It's a giant beacon

Lambo's look even more like fighter jets. Ez to capture on simple cop radar
 

CyberASL?

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Cops target the front number plate with laser based speed detection systems.
 
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ejay

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Cops target the front number plate with laser based speed detection systems.
True in the case of a policeman using a hand held gun, However, thats just the target that they aim at. The actual beam is much larger than that and conical so the further away the target the larger the actual beam and the lower the return. Our local plates are stamped embossed so thats an issue for us in Australia. I wonder If I could get away with a vinyl label?? lol.
Also, in my state of Victoria/Australia 99% of speed cameras are road side hidden mobile cameras. they don't get aimed at anything.
Anyway. I will find out in a few years time when my truck arrives. Being from a regional area I think I can get a friendly cop to do a test for me. Alternatively, we have a few Speed check sights around the state that I live in.
 

Geesh

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So I've been working on imaging radar systems for 15+ years now. In addition to that, an equal amount of time in electro-optical systems (directed energy, LIDAR, etc.). Here's my take on it:

  1. You may have a good point with the flat faceted surfaces along the hood and top of the truck - at the grazing angles that they are (relative to viewing a CT head-on or from behind); reflections as direct returns would be minimized in this case I believe
  2. However, the more vertical front/side surfaces combined with the ground effects (radar energy bouncing off the vertical flats along the ground as well as the direct returns) kind of make it a beacon from the side and a bit from the front/back, though at angles like 45° it may be minimized (since there are not radii of sufficient width)
  3. Stainless steel would be highly reflective for radar energy, as little of the EM gets consumed; it's all reflected. Stealth air, ground and sea vessels use multiple layers of RAM in concert with conductive underlayments to reduce return energy magnitude (a good thought for a surface treatment, though) - it might be best to put a refraction grating across it all.
  4. Optical systems (optical cameras, IR, etc.) would see whatever contrast exists between the CT and its immediate background in the spectra that they receive; I don't see this as notably different from traditional vehicles, return-wise.
  5. LIDAR energy - this is a another matter all together and may drive the production look/shape of the CT as it evolves to production. The flat facets of the CT shape would grossly impact the magnitude of the return as the focal point moves around the vehicle - think of it like a diamond ring glinting and reflecting super bright at one angle and just regular a degree or two off that. This would wreak havok on autodrive systems employing LIDAR. Why would Tesla knowlingly make a vehicle that has this trait?
So I summarize this long diatribe (sorry) by forecasting that realities of future use impacts will force the look of the production CT to have more traditional vehicle lines.....
 


CyberASL?

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True in the case of a policeman using a hand held gun, However, thats just the target that they aim at. The actual beam is much larger than that and conical so the further away the target the larger the actual beam and the lower the return. Our local plates are stamped embossed so thats an issue for us in Australia. I wonder If I could get away with a vinyl label?? lol.
Also, in my state of Victoria/Australia 99% of speed cameras are road side hidden mobile cameras. they don't get aimed at anything.
Anyway. I will find out in a few years time when my truck arrives. Being from a regional area I think I can get a friendly cop to do a test for me. Alternatively, we have a few Speed check sights around the state that I live in.
The hand held laser units have a low magnification sight and are good for many 100's of metres. Generally further than most people are looking or paying attention to.

Some laser based parking sensors can interfere with cop systems. Luckily they detect interference and turn off https://www.radardetectors.com.au/alg9.html

The car based systems get speed via photon "time of flight" i believe. Wary of the random Captiva, ASX on side of road :)
 
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ejay

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The hand held laser units have a low magnification sight and are good for many 100's of metres. Generally further than most people are looking or paying attention to.

Some laser based parking sensors can interfere with cop systems. Luckily they detect interference and turn off https://www.radardetectors.com.au/alg9.html

The car based systems get speed via photon "time of flight" i believe. Wary of the random Captiva, ASX on side of road :)
Still got your R32 Skyline? ( I have owned 2 R34's a V35 and aV36 ) time to step up to the cyber truck. I just hope it gets here within a reasonable amount of time.
 

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The radar frequencies cops use are very sensitive to small surface imperfections. The panel gaps alone would blow up the radar cross section, not even taking into account material changes across the headlights and fender flares. Part of the reason stealth aircraft cost $100+ million is the attention to detail required to eliminate every gap and imperfection which could amplify radar signature. Additionally, the windows are RF transparent, and human heads are very good radar reflectors!
 

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I can not help notice that the Cyber Truck shares a lot in common with the F117 Night Hawk.
Sharp edges, Flat surfaces that from every angle never face back at you.
(No mater what direction you look at it (all aspects) nothing seems to be at an angle that would reflect back at you.) accept the edges where the panels change direction and those edges are sharp so that the amount of surface is minimised/ concentrated.
As far as I can tell, there are No Square cavities to trap and return. (Look up Radar reflectors and how they work)
No door handels protruding.
The underneath of the truck even looks to be stealthy with no parts hanging under the truck..
The lack of side mirrors is also stealthy if you think about it.

Will the Cyber Truck be stealthy to radar based speed cameras and guns? not invisible but perhaps harder to get a read using current guns at long and medium distances.
Keep in mind these guns are fairly low tech and low power (unlike a military radar) Their receivers would not be designed to detect a vehicle that is sending back fractions of the signal a normal car would.
Would it also be hard to see using LIDAR (Laser range finder type guns)?
If it is hard to detect using LIDAR this would make all the LIDAR based autonomous vehicles unusable if the cyber truck is on the road already.
Over 90 percent of stealth is the shape and surface qualities. The the RAM ( Radar absorbent paint only a small part). ( I wonder if anyone will start selling RAM for cyber trucks.)
Will someone paint a cyber truck with VANABLACK ?
I appreciate your observation. It may be a side effect when people have one to test. However, I really would recommend against the Vantablack as it does absorb all wavelengths of visible light. This absorption of energy makes the surface wickedly HOT. I really don't think you would enjoy the effects of painting a heat absorbing coating on a stainless steel exoskeleton that conducts energy exceptionally well. It would create a solar oven out of your truck.
 

Cybertruck Hawaii

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Elon Musk delaying the Cybertruck with changes to appease the younger cohort. I’m sixty years old and don’t have much longer to live. I want my Cybertruck before I die.
 
 




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