Abstract: A low light level imaging apparatus comprising an image sensor having a plurality of pixels, where the image sensor is configured to readout in an interlaced manner to a display that allows for real-time viewing of image sensor data by a user or users, where some users may be remote from the low light level imaging apparatus, in the form of a video stream.

Abstract: A system and method for combining the inputs of various sensors used in platforms, primarily those having a military use, having or making use of a number of inputs capable of determining information about an environment in which they are operating. Each input is configured to output a standardized set of information regarding its capabilities and the environment in which it is operating. A correlator is configured to adaptably process the information based on rules contained in at least one changeable correlation matrix and information contained in at least one changeable configuration file. The information, or simply an alert, is provided to at least one output that provides the information to a human operator.

Abstract: A system and process for testing and analyzing a laser beam is provided. The system and process allows for repeatable testing of a laser beam to provide a beam intensity profile while accounting for variation in measurements attributable to outside factors. The system and process further allows for simultaneous measurement and analysis of a laser beam having multiple wavelengths.

Abstract: A full duplex dual red/blue wavelength communication architecture and method provides enhanced network configuration flexibility by enabling terminal switching between red and blue configurations, thereby enabling wavelength reconfiguration within the network on command while the terminal is in the field, airborne, or on orbit. A transmit laser module includes separate “red” and “blue” linear polarized lasers, or a single linear polarized laser tunable from red to blue. The transmit/receive diplexer uses a linear polarized beam splitter and a waveplate to transition the output beam between left and right circular polarization without affecting precision pointing, or co-boresight transmit/receive alignment. Waveplate polarization can be switched by physical rotation, or electrically using a liquid crystal variable retarder (LCVR). Red and blue bandpass filters can be selected in the receiver and/or transmitter by physical manipulation, optical switches, DWDM 3-port filters, and/or LCVRs.

Abstract: A signal routing circuit is disclosed which employs resistive combiners to reduce signal jitter. A signal routing circuit configured according to an embodiment comprises an input stage including a plurality of buffer circuits. Each of the buffer circuits is controlled by a selection signal to enable an input signal at an input port of the buffer circuit to generate an output signal at an output port of the buffer circuit. The signal routing circuit also includes a plurality of resistors to couple the output port of each of the buffer circuits of the input stage to a summing junction. The signal routing circuit further includes an output stage including an additional buffer circuit. The input port of the additional buffer circuit is coupled to the summing junction, and the output port of the additional buffer circuit is configured to provide the routed output signal based on the selection signals.

Abstract: A triple-balanced radio frequency (RF) mixer including a plurality of double-balanced mixer cells and a plurality of transformers is disclosed. Each of the plurality of transformers includes a primary and a secondary. Each primary is connected in series. Each secondary is connected across one double-balanced mixer cell of said plurality of double-balanced mixer cells. The triple-balanced RF mixer further includes a local oscillator (LO) port coupled to each of the plurality of double-balanced mixer cells in parallel, an output port coupled to each of the plurality of double-balanced mixer cells in parallel, and at least one non-ideality source providing at least one-non-ideality. The at least one non-ideality is cancelled at the output port.

Abstract: A system and method thereof identifies and locates a submarine or other similar object located in the ocean. The thermocline in the water column is utilized to identify objects based on signals carried by the internal wave (IW) in a mixed layer (ML) of water established between a less-dense and/or warmer upper layer of water and a more-dense and/or cooler lower layer of water. The system can detect objects moving in the ML. Additionally, the system detects non-moving objects in the ML based on shadowing and/or scattering effects established by naturally occurring waves contacting the object.

Abstract: An angle only (AO) target state estimation (TSE) system and method using a mixed coordinate system (Modified Spherical Coordinate (MSC) and Reference Cartesian Coordinate (RCC)) as an integrated system. This integrated system is achieved due to the state vector information of two frames (RCC and MSC) is effectively preserved between processing cycles and state vector transformation steps. The AO TSE architecture and processing schemes are applicable to a wide class of passive sensors. The mixed coordinate system provides robust real-time slant range estimation in a bootstrap fashion, thus turning passive AO measurements into equivalent active sensor measurements with built-in recursive range information but with greatly improved the TSE accuracy meeting the miss distance required by many engagement missions.

Abstract: Poor BSE estimation accuracy resulting from conventional Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF) approaches using RF OI sensors mounted on the ground as a remote bullet tracking sensor motivated the design and development of the present disclosure. The observer based BSE removes EKF process noise (state noise) and measurement noise (OI sensor noise) covariance matrices selection and tuning which have been long recognized by the estimation community as a time consuming process during the design stage; requires no consideration of interactions when having the control input signal as part of the state propagation equation; and provides a significant improvement in velocity estimation accuracy, in some cases to less than 1 m/s errors in all axes, thereby meeting the miss distance requirement with amble margin.

Abstract: An auto-ICAS compliant system and method of avoiding collisions between aircraft linked by a Link 16 network comprises establishing an ICAS datalink between aircraft less than 10 nautical miles apart. Datalink messages generated and processed by ICAS datalink modules are transmitted and received by Link 16 receivers rather than dedicated ICAS transceivers. The datalink messages are embedded within the propagation delay portions of Link 16 timeslots and exchanged among up to 10 nearby aircraft at a data rate of up to 20 Hz each. Because each Link 16 timeslot can contain a Link 16 message and two 768-bit ICAS datalink messages, conventional Link 16 communication is not impeded. Datalink messages can be software encrypted. Link 16 messages can be encoded using an enhanced throughput Link 16 protocol that includes fewer preamble pulses and/or eliminates STN information. Embedded datalink messages can be transmitted at 1 Watt by a MIDS-JTRS CMN4.

Abstract: A system and method for enhancing laser contrast on a remote target utilizing an image processor and a laser power controller is provided. An image processor in an imaging device manipulates a laser power controller in a laser system so that a laser beam emitted from a laser system is ultimately synchronized with the imaging device. Firstly, the original laser signal is shifted one time frame relative to the plurality of time frames to create a shifted laser signal. Secondly, the shifted laser signal is subtracted from the original laser signal. Thirdly, the subtracted laser signal is magnified by a frequency band pass filter. The filtered laser signal is added to the original signal to become the finalized laser signal which has better contrast than the original signal.

Abstract: The system and method non-linear optical mapping of a detector array to expand the field of view. Outer edges of the sensor array having lower resolution spatial resolution in exchange for an expanded field of view. A lens is used to distort incoming signals to provide the expanded field of view and a processor is used to remove the distortion to provide the actual spatial angles for the incoming signals suing a look up table or an algorithm. The lens may create radial or linear distortion.

Abstract: The system and method of detecting targets using a camera comprising narrow band filters in a compact pixel cluster arrangement. In some cases, the target is a chemical target. In some cases, the target is a naval target and the processing of the data provides extent, shape, direction and other characteristics that can provide details about the type of naval target even in dark or low light conditions.

Abstract: An integrated architecture and its associated sensors and processing software subsystems are defined and developed allowing a conventional unguided bullet to be transformed into a guided bullet without the use of an on-board inertial measurement unit (IMU). Some important SW components of the present disclosure include a target state estimator (TSE); a bullet state estimator (BSE); Multi-Object Tracking and Data Association; NTS GL; and a Data Link. Pre-conversion of two angles and range information of an OI sensor from spherical coordinates into Cartesian coordinates eliminates the Jacobian dependency in the H matrix for the BSE, thus increasing the miss distance performance accuracy of the bullet target engagement system.

Abstract: A system and method for a bistatic coherent LIDAR system with lasers locked to a reference. Utilizing atomic absorption lines to lock the frequency for the bistatic system provides an absolute reference, as each of the lasers in the bistatic system would have the same frequency to within the linewidth of the frequency reference. Each laser may also be additionally locked to an optical cavity for increased frequency stability. Not only does such a system provide essentially an infinite aperture, it also reduces laser power requirements because the detector platforms could be much closer to the target than the platform that contains the laser.

Abstract: A system reducing pixel-based spatial noise for an uncooled infrared imager includes a first step of subtracting the historical scene-based NUC offsets for each selected pixel calculated from the previous frame. A filtered image for output module output is calculated using an edge preserving smoothing filter. The edge preserving smoothing function consists of a plus-shaped median kernel in which selected pixels that differ from the center pixel by greater than a specified threshold are replaced with the center pixel. The result is subtracted from the center pixel forming a high pass, edge ignoring, version of the frame which is dominated by system noise. A low pass version of the noise frame is created with a 5×5 mean filter. This is subtracted from the initial noise frame to improve scene rejection. This high pass version of the image/noise frame is attenuated by a configurable value.

Abstract: An object detection system uses a change in a linear polarization statistic between a first image at a first time and a second image at a second time to determine the presence or the likelihood of an object beneath a surface. The presence of the object may be determined by regions of anomalously high changes in the polarization statistic. The system may use a polarization change detection detector which may simultaneously capture images in multiple polarization channels. Further, the polarization change detection detector may be coupled with a laser interferometry system.

Abstract: The system and method for adaptively obtaining coefficients of an inverse model for both equalization and pre-distortion for a multi-channel and reconfigurable RF system. The system preforms real-time learning and adaption and does not require training sets. In some cases, the system learns new coefficients across time and transient changes in performance.

Abstract: A calibration assembly and system for collocated transceivers includes calibration logic that determines at least one calibration ratio based on the isolation between a transmitter and a receiver on a platform, such as an aerial vehicle, regardless of whether the vehicle is manned or unmanned. The calibration logic utilizes a power level of the signal of interest at the receiver to calibrate a power output level of a transmit signal transmitted from a transmit antenna of the transmitter based on calibration ratios stored in a database. The transmitter then transmits the transmit signal from the transmitter at a power level sufficiently low to prevent a ring-around or wraparound power level from exceeding the power level of the received signal of interest input to the receiver so as to not cause cosite or colocation interference in the receiver.

Abstract: A compact orthoscopic lens is corrected for monochromatic and chromatic aberrations over wavelengths from 450 to 2450 nm with an angular FOV of 5.56° vertical and 66° horizontal. The 4.36? effective focal length lens with f-number of 4 is compact measuring 5.2? from the first optical surface to the image. The lens includes, in order from object to image, a first optical group having a negative optical power; a second optical group having a positive optical power and a third optical group having a negative optical power. The first optical group consists of two elements, the second optical group consists of three elements, one a doublet, and the third optical group consists of two elements. A physical aperture stop is positioned inside the second optical group. Powers of groups and elements, shapes, refractive indices, Abbe numbers and partial dispersions of glasses are selected so the lens is apochromatic and orthoscopic.