Laser Eye Protection Field Evaluation Device

The Air Force 311th Human Systems Wing at Brooks City-Base, San Antonio, Texas, has a requirement to develop a Laser Eye Protection (LEP) Field Evaluation Device to “field check” protection levels of LEP devices such as goggles, visors, and spectacles. The team of Technology Service Corporation (TSC) and Newport Stratford is proposing an innovative and cost-effective solution to this requirement based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. A COTS spectrophotometer will be utilized along with Si (Silicon) and InGaAs (Indium Gallium Arsenide) detectors to provide the required wavelength scan region. The spectrophotometer will utilize a tungsten-halogen broadband light source, a scanning monochromator, and a Merlin digital lock-in radiometry system for data acquisition. A PC-based controller with a removable hard drive will provide control via a graphical operator interface. The Field Evaluation Device and controller will be housed in a secured enclosure to preclude unauthorized access. Software encryption techniques will be utilized to safeguard classified data. In Phase I, TSC and Newport Stratford will investigate this approach and others, perform a technology feasibility assessment, and provide a demonstration at Brooks City-Base. Top-level designs and a technology development plan will then be prepared towards development of the Field Evaluation Device in Phase II.