Further Research & Development of an Omni-Directional Sensor Mount

The results of the proposed Omni-Directional Sensor Mount research and development will be greater usefulness of both old and new Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) sensor technology. The innovative design adapts novel patented and patent pending technology, to provide a double-jointed sensor mount which is singularity and gimbal lock-free. The device merges novel patented technology with new patent pending technology to provide a sensor platform that is capable of moving a sensor within a full horizon-to-horizon 180 degree hemispherical range of motion. This requires a mount capable of a full 180 degree horizon-to-horizon movement without incurring the downtime caused by singularities (voids in the range of motion available to the sensor mount). Low weight and zero-backlash enhance positioning speed and accuracy. Ships, amphibious or four-wheel drive vehicles, and other platforms which move in three-dimensional space induce pitch, yaw, and roll motion to the sensor mount. Maintaining sensor lock in rough seas on stationary targets such as geosynchronous satellites, beacons, or other fixed objects is difficult, if not at times impossible, when using current sensor mounts technologies. Satellite-to-satellite communication in circumstances of tangential or perpendicular orbits requires antenna mounts that can be repositioned in real-time.