Active Target Tracking through Deep Atmospheric Turbulence

"In this proposal we consider the development of statistical image processingand filtering techniques for optical tracking in systems such as the AirBorneLaser (ABL) tactical missile defense system. Based on a combination of stochasticmodeling for non-uniform illumination patterns with nonlinear Bayesian filtering,our methods promise to provide greatly enhanced tracking and pointing.Scintillation, the turbulence-induced fluctuation of image intensities, iswidely regarded as a major problem for tracking and adaptive optics. The methodswe propose herein provide the potential to mitigate significantly the effects ofscintillation, thus enhancing system performance. Our estimation techniques arealso relevant to problems of anisoplanatism that are of crucial importance inextended range ABL system design. Also included in this effort are the study ofdata fusion from wavefront sensors and pupil plane imagery and development ofrobust control designs for pointing. Collaborating with scientists and engineersat Georgia Tech, Trex Enterprises, and AFRL, we will use wave propagationsimulations data and data collected in tests at Lincoln Laboratory's ACLfacility to score the performance of these algorithms. Our partnership withTrex Enterprises, a leading developer of optical tracking hardware, will allowus to leverage the results obtained in this effort into hardware systems in amost efficient and cost-effective manner. Potential commercial applica