The U.S. Air Force has a need to develop a wide-field-of-view (WFOV) multimode seeker with one mode being multi-waveband passive infrared imaging, and the second mode being a semi-active laser (SAL). The multimode system is required because of the continued need for military operations to be conducted in difficult urban environments were damage effects must be controlled through precision guidance of munitions. Given the highly cluttered nature of urban environments and associated problems with line-of-sight designation, additional precision can be obtained via passive infrared imaging provided from the flight vehicle. The additional image information would allow soldiers on the ground to adjust the laser designator spot accordingly and thereby increase the probability of correctly identifying and tracking targets from non-targets. The Spectral Imaging Laboratory (SPILAB) will investigate the feasibility of developing an infrared artificial compound eye (ACE) imaging sub-system that can be integrated with a SAL sub-system. The combined system will have a size, weight, and power (SWaP) well below the required 6in diameter, 5lb, and 50W.
Benefit: The combined SAL/ACE system will enable soldiers in the field to designate targets with greater precision in cluttered urban environments. Commercial applications include surveillance activities in law enforcement, border control, homeland security. The ACE system alone will find applications in search and rescue, machine vision, robotics, and vehicle situational awareness/safety systems.
Keywords: wide angle, infrared, artificial compound eye, semi-active laser
