HIGH FIELD OF REGARD GIMBAL FOR LASER COMMUNICATIONS AND OTHER STEERED SYSTEMS

The primary objective of this Phase I technical effort is to desgin, prototype and measure the performance of a novel compact gimbal that is specifically designed for high precision pointing of electro-optic systems from mobile platforms. This novel gimbal consists of two rotating joints oriented at an angle of 47.5 degrees from each other. By rotating these two joints through 360 degrees, the gimbal can point the device being steered at any angle from straight up to 5 degrees below the horizon. This gimbal utilizes large diameter bearings in conjunction with large cross section support structures to form an exceptionally stiff and compact unit. The gimbal will be directly driven by hollow core brushless DC motors with integral high resolution encoders. This design incorporates no gear reduction and consequently has zero backlash. The hollow motors and encoders are positioned around the device being steered in order to reduce the size of the overall package. Testing of the prototype gimbal will be performed in order to measure its frequency response, maximum slew rate, and repeatability.