Advanced Experimental Design and Modeling and Simulation for Testing Large Format Sensor Arrays

ABSTRACT:JRM and Santa Barbara Infrared propose an innovative, low-cost, hybrid projection/injection approach for testing of Wide-Field-of-View (WFOV), Wide-Focal-Plane-Array (WFPA) sensors and seeker systems, with minimal impact to existing 7V/10V facilities. In this approach, the sensor under test is servo-mounted to allow controlled re-orientation, so that existing (narrow-FOV) projector/collimator configurations can selectively test selected regions of the sensor FOV. Once the sensor characteristics (non-uniformity, radiometric calibration, spectral response, etc.) have been measured, seeker system testing is performed using a combination of projection and direct digital injection, both driven by a common high-fidelity, physics-based scene simulator, which applies realistic, engineering-level sensor effects to the injected portion of the scene, based on the measured sensor characteristics.BENEFIT:JRMs proposed multi-channel hardware configuration will serve as the baseline architecture for an innovative hybrid projection/injection design to extend existing IRSP HWIL systems to support testing of large format SUTs. This hybrid design will effectively perform digital injection for detector samples outside the IRSP coverage, extending it to 4Kx4K samples or better, with minimal impact to existing 7V/10V facilities. Simultaneously, sensor characterization and tracker testing procedures will be updated and automated. In this innovative, low-cost design, the sensor under test is servo-mounted to allow controlled re-orientation, so that existing (narrow-FOV) projector/collimator configurations can selectively test selected regions of the sensor FOV. Once the sensor characteristics (non-uniformity, radiometric calibration, spectral response, etc.) have been measured, seeker system testing is performed using a combination of projection and direct digital injection, both driven by a common high-fidelity, physics-based scene simulator, which applies realistic, engineering-level sensor effects to the injected portion of the scene, based on the measured sensor characteristics.