Spatial-Temporal Control Applied to Atmospheric Adaptive Optics

ABSTRACT: The goal of this project is to develop key algorithmic components for predictive control of wavefront aberrations in aero-optics systems. Prediction should allow for improved performance over existing approaches and/or the use of low-cost commercial off-the-shelf components in these systems. One of the key components developed in the Phase I effort was a novel technique, which we dubbed GAFFE, to more efficiently estimate the velocity fields in turbulent flow scenarios. In Phase II GAFFE will be used for system identification in the predictive control algorithms under development. A detailed performance analyses will be conducted with high fidelity simulation tools to establish the effective performance envelope. A real-time control architecture will be defined including identification of computer processors that may be used in real-time implementations of these algorithms. Important applications of this work include space surveillance, laser communications and weapons, and remote sensing. Real-time adaptive optics implementations are also critically important in ground-based astronomy. BENEFIT: The product of this research is a control architecture to optimally compensate for optical disturbances due to turbulence, both free space and boundary layer, in the presence of various noise sources. Implementing this control scheme is obviously desirable in: 1) the development of laser weapons, especially to Air Force programs such as ATL, and 2) in providing defensive laser platforms on ships and military transport aircraft. In addition, the technologies developed here will also be useful in other adaptive optics applications such as laser communications, remote sensing, and astronomy. Current UAVs have no need for this technology, but existing UAVs such as Global Hawk, Predator, and Avenger are large enough to support adaptive optics in the future and may benefit from this technology. Although the number of astronomical adaptive optics systems is quite small, these systems are quite sophisticated and may greatly benefit from the work to be carried out in this proposal.