Wide-Field-of-View Infrared Seeker

The U.S. Air Force has a need to develop small and agile strapdown (no-gimbal), wide-field-of-view (WFOV) seekers capable of precision guidance within cluttered urban environments. The Spectral Imaging Laboratory (SPILAB) proposes the development of infrared strapdown seekers that utilize the architecture of WFOV, artificial compound eye (ACE) optics coupled to variable acuity sensors. ACE wide angle optics have the benefit of generating high resolution, distortion free images that have uniform intensity across the field. Variable acuity sensors enable selected portions of the image field to be read out at maximum resolution while the remainder of the field is read out at low resolution. This maximizes the readout rate by minimizing the data volume. The SPILAB ACE design includes a honeycomb louver baffle that can block stray radiation from bright sources such as the sun and flares. During Phase 1 SPILAB will design two types of infrared ACE systems and determine the feasibility of developing them into prototype strapdown seekers. BENEFIT: Will provide the military with infrared wide angle seekers that can be used in small weapon/aircraft systems engaged in combat and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Commercial applications include surveillance activities in law enforcement, search and rescue, border control, and homeland security. Other commercial applications include machine vision for manufacturing, robotics, and vehicle situational awareness/safety systems.