This proposal describes a laser scanner/receiver retro-reflector system designed to locate and identify downed aircraft personnel on sea or land. It is composed of an 810 nm. Semiconductor diode laser and a silicon array receiver, whose fields of view are mechanically scanned in a cross-track direction to the flight path of the search aircraft to cover a 5800 ft. wide or larger area under the aircraft flight path. The laser energy reflected by the retro-reflector provides a very large signal-to-detector noise and background noise so as to provide highly reliable detection of the downed personnel, who mounts the retro-reflector on his head. Using GPS input, the computer for the system defines the coordinates of the detected "hit" location and directs the pilot of the search aircraft to confirm the location of the "hit". An optional, secondary, narrow field laser/receiver, used in to perform IFF-recognition functions on the downed personnel by electro-optical means in a radio silent regime, is also described.In this Phase I effort, only the wide field scanner will be fabricated and will be tested before delivery from a stationary location on the roof of a tall building or at the edge of a cliff. Although the GPS and radar altimeter inputs required for airborne operation of the system will not be provided as part of Phase I, suitable "hooks" for these inputs will be incorporated into the delivered software to accept these inputs during flight testing. A full interface specification to ease the flight test integration will also be delivered in this Phase I program. The scanner is designed to be installed on a pitch stabilized platform allowing a ?90ยก cross-track scan, in either a helicopter of a light aircraft capable of flying at 111 knots. Roll stabilization in the scanner mount is considered desirable but is not required for reasonable aircraft roll dynamics. In addition to this proposal, we are submitting a proposal in response to Topic AF00-255 for a Laser Navigation Aid, which assists aircraft in landing in airports in a radio silent environment. The system proposed for this Topic is highly similar to that proposed herein, requiring relatively minor changes in hardware and software. Therefore, if OPTICAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES Inc is selected to perform both efforts the cost for developing the instrument for Topic AF00-255 will be significantly reduced relative to its stand-alone cost, because of shared costs for program management and software.
Keywords: Diode Laser, Silicon, Array , Retro-Reflector, Detector
