Laser Detection and Ranging (LADAR) Simulation Techniques for Multi-mode Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulations

Passive systems such as forward looking infrared imagers, infrared search & track arrays, missile seekers and missile warning systems require calibration and testing at every level in their fabrication as well as at the depot and the flight line.Hardware-in-the-loop simulators exist for passive IR sensors and seekers, but no such technology exists yet for the validation of active coherent receivers. Common-aperture multi-mode sensors and seekers using combinations of mmW & ¿YW radar, passive IR,and LADAR/active IR and data fusion require in-situ (possibly simultaneous) testing and calibration of multiple modes of sensing in specialized testing facilities such as environmental rooms or anechoic chambers. Simultaneous acquisition of numerous ladarsignatures (polarimetric reflectivity, multi-spectral reflectivity, 1D & 3D shape echo, and micro-Doppler signatures) enables their combination to enhance the ability of an active seeker to counteract the effects of camouflage, concealment & deception andclutter that can defeat the separate use of passive, RF and mm-wave seekers. This Phase I Program will design and development a hardware-in-the-loop scene projector for active seeker characterization. The novel coherent ladar scene projector design willbe compact, portable, and easy-to-use in the depot or on the flight line.Potential applications include manufacturing/production reliability testing and performance validation for critical hardware and software seeker components for advanced missilesystems and multi-mode weapons systems. In addition, the scene generators developed under this program could be used in simulators for autonomous navigation devices. Other applications of the technology includes test-beds for automobile and aircraftcollision-avoidance systems.