USAF APPLICATIONS OF TERMINAL HOMING BY OPTICAL RECOGNITION (THOR)

IMAGE RECOGNITION BY OPTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING CAN BE APPLIED TO AIR FORCE WEAPONS SYSTEMS TO CREATE "BRILLIANT MUNITIONS." THE STATE OF THE ART NOW ALLOWS REAL TIME DETECTION, DISCRIMINATION, AND TRACKING OF PREPROGRAMMED TARGETS SUCH AS TANKS, BRIDGES, AIRFIELD FEATURES, OR HIGH VALUE TARGETS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PHASE I TASK WILL BE TO SHOW HOW TERMINAL HOMING BY OPTICAL RECOGNITION (THOR) CAN WORK IN AN AIR FORCE WEAPON SYSTEM. A NEAR TERM DEMONSTRATION OF THE TECHNOLOGY USING A GBU-15 BOMB WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR IMPLEMENTATION IN PHASE II. AN OPTICAL PROCESSOR WILL BE USED FOR A LABORATORY DEMONSTRATION AND TRACK A TARGET IN AN AIR FORCE SCENARIO. (THE TERM OPTICAL MEANS THE IMAGE PROCESSING USE OF OPTICS - THE SENSOR CAN BE EO, IR, MMW, OR ANYTHING WHICH PROVIDES AN IMAGE).