Adjustable Film for Faint Image eXtrapolation (AFFIX)

The goal of the proposed DARPA STTR Phase I Adjustable Film for Faint Image eXtrapolation (AFFIX) project is to design a large collecting area telescope using window glass as the main optical element combined with an imaging camera, associated hardware, & machine learning software for the detection of faint space-based objects.The Kent Displays, Inc. (KDI) Team will research the feasibility of designing AFFIX with:A machine learning system to characterize the window surface features & identify the departure from flatness across the whole surface using deep learning data-driven techniques to optimize performance by simulating measurements A computational imaging system to enable compensated image reconstruction for beams reflected from most of the window surface that uses two implicit neural representations (INRs) – one for assessing window aberrations & one for optimizing images from the scene captured by sensors (e.g., a camera)A physical realization of the telescope system to leverage thin, flexible LCD mask to provide modulation for improved image extraction at a low cost to ensure ease of proliferation across hundreds of thousands of locations The proposed DARPA Phase I STTR project aims to create a groundbreaking window-glass telescope system with highly compensated sensing capabilities. This system will enable precise monitoring with wide-ranging applications by leveraging advanced materials, innovative optical design, & AI-driven compensation techniques.Glass facades & large windows have become the hallmark of modern commercial architecture. As a by-product, the windows act like large light-collecting apertures that redirect light from the sky. This presents an opportunity to process the redirected light to detect & track faint objects, such as airplanes & low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites. The proposed project will design a machine learning system combined with a computational imaging system with a flexible, rugged, low-SWaP-C (Size, weight, power & cost) liquid crystal display (LCD) film mask (made in the USA for commercial sale by KDI under the brand name SwitchVue™) easily affixed to float glass on already-installed commercial-office window panes to characterize surface shape & compensate for surface aberrations to effectively detect faint objects such as low-earth orbit (LEO) cube satellites. During Phase I, the KDI Team will design the AFFIX telescope system with the following research and development efforts:Thrust 1: Develop mask modulation design.Thrust 2: Develop image formation simulator.Thrust 3: Develop reconstruction methods.The AFFIX telescope system will be evaluated based on upon these key performance metrics: ResolutionSensitivityDynamic RangeCompensation AccuracyComputational EfficiencyThe major tasks to be performed for the evaluating the feasibility of the AFFIX system include:Initial Optical DesignDetection Analysis Image SimulatorOverall System Performance