SBIR Phase I: Turbulence Free Charge-Coupled Device Camera

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve imaging systems used in surveying and surveillance. Specifically, the project intends to overcome the long range resolution problems created by air turbulence which is the primary limitation on resolution at long distances. The project anticipates creating a light weight, ultra-high resolution camera system deployable on land, sea and air drones to speed search & rescue, identify crop diseases, improve oil and mineral exploration success, rapidly identify infrastructure problems and improve homeland security operations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the limitations placed on long range imaging by air turbulence using a novel non-classical approach. Using sun as the light source, this camera may achieve a spatial resolution of 200 micrometers for any object on Earth, which is insignificant for short distance imaging, however, taking a picture of a target at 10-kilometer, a classic camera must have a lens of 90-meter diameter to achieve a theoretical 200-micrometer resolution. Thus, the turbulence free camera will provide "panoramic" photographs with micron-level resolution at large distances. The research will convert a successful lab scale camera system performing non-classical imaging into a fully functional prototype for use in real world environments.