Abstract: An imaging processing system and method. In accordance with the invention, the illustrative method includes the steps of providing a transfer function between scene excitations and voltage returns based on geometry, beam pattern and/or scan rate; ascertaining a set of scene excitations that minimize a penalty function of the transfer function; and ascertaining a set of scene intensities based on the scene excitations, and a set of optimal weights for the penalty function based on the scene reflectivities. The inventive method provides significantly enhanced image sharpening. In the illustrative embodiment, the inventive method uses an iterative convergence technique which minimizes a penalty function of the sum of square errors between the scene excitations corrupted by the radar system (i.e. the antenna pattern and processing) and the radar voltage returns.

Abstract: The present invention relates to both a surveying apparatus with a picking-up device and a electronic storage medium, and particularly to a surveying apparatus capable of combining a background image captured by a picking-up device with survey data obtained by the surveying apparatus and displaying the combined image on a display unit, wherein the surveying apparatus is configured such that the picking-up device can be connected to the surveying apparatus, the picking-up device having an optical axis approximately parallel with an optical axis of the surveying apparatus, the surveying apparatus comprising: an operation unit for associating measurement data obtained by the surveying apparatus with image data obtained by the picking-up device and displaying a measurement target position mark in the image data; a first storage unit for storing the measurement data associated with the image data; a second storage unit for storing the image data associated with the measurement data; and a display unit for, when ne

Abstract: An incoherent ladar transmitter (12) adapted for use with synthetic aperture processing. The system (12) includes a first mechanism (44, 48, 50) for generating a laser beam (18). A second mechanism (44, 68) records phase information pertaining to the laser beam (18) and subsequently transmits the laser beam (18) from the system in response thereto. A third mechanism (40) receives a reflected version (20) of the laser beam and provides a received signal in response thereto. A fourth mechanism (72) corrects the received signal based on the phase information recorded by the second mechanism (44, 68). In a more specific embodiment, the ladar system (12) includes a synthetic aperture processor (46) for correcting the received signal based on the phase information and providing a corrected laser signal in response thereto.

Abstract: An electronic distance meter includes a sighting telescope having an objective lens for sighting an object; a reflection member positioned behind the objective lens; an optical distance meter which includes a light-transmitting optical system for transmitting a measuring light via the reflection member and the objective lens, and a light-receiving optical system for receiving light which is reflected by the object, subsequently passed through the objective lens and not interrupted by the reflection member; a beam-diameter varying device, provided in association with the light-transmitting optical system, for varying a beam diameter of the measuring light; and a controller which varies the beam diameter via the beam-diameter varying device in accordance with a distance from the object to the electronic distance meter.

Abstract: The positions of moving targets in the azimuthal direction which result from the SAR processing are falsified by components of the vehicle movement in the Doppler spectrum of the received signal, so that without the implementation of additional signal processing, moving targets are imaged in the SAR image at a false azimuth position. A method of repositioning moving targets in SAR images which consist of multi-channel range/Doppler measurement data X with NND Doppler resolution cells, defines on the basis of the filtering coefficients of the STAP transformed into the frequency domain, a family of NDZ pattern functions M, and determines testing functions T assigned to the measurement data. The true azimuth position of a moving target is then computed on the basis of the position of the maximum of the correlation between the testing functions and the pattern functions.

Abstract: A system (10) for measuring the dynamic orientation of the plane of a wheel (12) on a vehicle (14). The system (10) includes a test surface (16) which rotates with the wheel (12) and a orientation-determining device (18) which is unattached to the vehicle (14). The test surface (16) is positioned in a plane corresponding to the plane of the wheel (12) and the orientation-determining device (18) determines the orientation of the plane of the test surface (12) at a specific point of time while the vehicle is being driven. A processor (20) receives output signals from the orientation-determining device (18) and converts the output signals into data corresponding to the orientation of the wheel plane for the specific instant in time.

Abstract: A method for detecting and correcting non-linearities in radio-frequency, voltage controlled oscillators provides for digitization of the frequency signal by feeding the undelayed frequency signal and a delayed frequency signal generated therefrom into EXOR gates. The digital pulses produced thereform are converted using a low pass filter into a proportional DC voltage value which is proportional to the oscillator frequency and is used as a basis for producing a correction value for the frequency control of the oscillator.

Abstract: The invention relates to an electronic distance measuring device which measures the propagation time to and from a target of a shor pulse of a trasmitted electromagnetic beam from a radiation source comprising a microchip laser, and comprising objective optical system (6; 16; 21); for the reflected beam from the target and a detecting unit (9; 13; 20) to which the received beam is transmitted. Means (4, 5; 15) is provided for making the transmitted and the receiving electromagnetic beam coaxial. Means (6, 10, 12; 14, 16; 21, 22) are also provided for focusing the received beam onto the detecting unit (9; 13; 20). A means (3) makes the transmitted electromagnetic beam simultaneously as narrow and as collimated as possible in order to get a well-defined radiation measuring spot on the target.

Abstract: There is provided an autonomous off-board defensive aids system (100) for use with a host craft (102), for example, with combat aircraft or submarines. More particularly, the host craft (102) deploys a plurality of controllable off-board units (104, 106) to counter an offensive threat or to engage in autonomous offensive actions. The controllable off-board units (104, 106) implement active stealth facilities: each off-board unit (104, 106) having a receiver unit for detecting impinging detection pulses, for example radar or sonar pulses, and a transmitter unit for generating an artificial detection pulse profile, for example “spoofing” or masking the presence of the host craft. The controllable off-board units are of two types: tethered (104) and free moving (106). The off-board units (104, 106) can have conventional propulsion apparatus, for instance, propellers, rockets or jets. Off-board units (104, 106) each have control apparatus which allows the off-board units (104, 106) to co-operate.

Abstract: A surveying machine that automatically adjusts an optical axis includes a sighting optical system for sighting an object, a light-transmitting optical system that transmits a beam for surveying, radiated from a light source, to the object, a deviation detector, and an optical axis adjuster. The deviation detector detects a deviation between a first optical axis corresponding to the sighting optical system and a second optical axis corresponding to the light-transmitting optical system. The optical axis adjuster automatically adjusts at least one of the first optical axis and the second optical axis so as to correct the deviation.

Abstract: The present invention provides a broadband RF absorptive structure based on a classic Salisbury screen. Closely-spaced frequency selective surface reflective layers interact with a ground plane to reflect coherent signals at 377&OHgr; into a spacecloth front layer. The frequency response of the absorptive structure is relatively flat across an octave (i.e. a 2:1 frequency ratio) bandwidth. The overall thickness of the inventive structure is less than &lgr;/4 thickness of the interactions of the FSS layers and the ground plane.

Abstract: A pulse-echo radar measures non-contact range while powered from a two-wire process control loop. A key improvement over prior loop-powered pulse-echo radar is the use of carrier-based emissions rather than carrier-free ultrawideband impulses, which are prohibited by FCC regulations. The radar is based on a swept range-gate homodyne transceiver having a single RF transistor and a single antenna separated from the radar transceiver by a transmission line. The transmission line offers operational flexibility while imparting a reflection, or timing fiducial, at the antenna plane. Time-of-flight measurements are based on the time difference between a reflected fiducial pulse and an echo pulse, thereby eliminating accuracy-degrading propagation delays in the transmitters and receivers of prior radars. The loop-powered rangefinder further incorporates a current regulator for improved signaling accuracy, a simplified sensitivity-time-control (STC) based on a variable transconductance element, and a jam detector.

Abstract: A surveying instrument includes an optical distance meter which has a light-transmitting optical system and a light-receiving optical system, the light-receiving optical system including a light-receiving element; a first wavelength selection filter and a second wavelength selection filter for allowing only light within a first wavelength range to pass therethrough, to be thereafter incident on the light-receiving element, wherein the first wavelength selection filter allows light with a wavelength equal to or greater than a first specific wavelength to pass therethrough, and a second wavelength selection filter allows light with a wavelength equal to or shorter than a second specific wavelength, which is longer than the first specific wavelength, to pass therethrough; and an angle adjusting device for adjusting an angle of inclination of the first and second wavelength selection filter with respect to an optical path thereof.

Abstract: A distance measuring apparatus has: an AF optical system for dividing object light beams into a pair thereof and forming images and; an AFIC for photoelectrically converting received object optical images in pixels, accumulating charges, and outputting object distance information on the basis of the object image signal. A CPU discriminates whether or not the object is based on a night view or a view in which the night view is the background on the basis of the output of the AFIC or an operation of a night view photographing mode switch, and corrects the object distance to a second predetermined distance shorter than a first predetermined distance when the object is based on the night view or the like and the object distance is longer than the first predetermined distance.

Abstract: A surface geometry measuring apparatus which relies upon triangulation to measure the distance to an object from a sensor head comprising projection optics and observation optics, wherein the projection optics has a drive mechanism capable of adjusting the laser beam projecting position or the baseline length, the distance to the object is calculated by measuring the baseline length at the time when the point at which a spot of the laser light projected to the object forms a focused image on the observation plane in the observation optics has come to the center of the observation plane, the surface geometry measuring apparatus has a mechanism for causing the sensor head or observation optics to move or turn from side to side and a mechanism for causing the sensor head to turn up and down such that the moving or turning from side to side and the turning up and down allow the point of measurement on the object to be scanned with the laser beam two-dimensionally to measure the surface geometry of the object.

Abstract: This present invention advantageously eliminates the critical deficiencies of current multipath interferometer processing demonstrated in field testing. In particular the present invention substantially improves AOA estimation accuracy and reliability when utilizing super resolution algorithms. The present invention also overcomes the data-gap drawback of data editing methods, especially for emitters at low elevations. The present invention does this by detecting phase processing errors and substituting correct AOA estimates for the corrupt ones. In the preferred implementation, the detection and substitution time extends only slightly the super resolution or data editing processing time. By thus requiring little additional processing time, the present invention allows the interferometer to output accurate angle estimates at the receiver's emitter-revisit rate for all emitter-array geometries and signal polarizations.

Abstract: An integrated detector and signal processor (31) for ladar focal plane arrays (30) which internally compensates for variations in detector gain, noise, and aerosol backscatter. The invention (31) is comprised of a detector element (42) for receiving an input signal, a circuit (72) for generating a threshold based on the RMS noise level of the input signal, and a circuit (74) determining when the input signal is above that threshold. The detector element (42) is physically located in the interior of the detector array (30), while the signal processing circuitry (50) is located on the periphery of the array (30). In the preferred embodiment, the signal processor (31) also includes a circuit (56) for sampling the input signal and a circuit (58) storing multiple samples, allowing for multiple returns to be detected. In the preferred embodiment, the signal processor (31) can be operated in two modes: self triggered and externally triggered (range-gate mode).

Abstract: A distance measuring device includes a light emitting system that emits light toward an object that is subject to a distance measurement. A light receiving system is provided to receive optical images which are formed by an optical system. The light receiving system outputs data corresponding to the received images. The light receiving system is capable of receiving the object images when the light emitting system emits the light, and when the light emitting system does not emit the light. Further, the distance measuring device includes a control system that receives the data output by the light receiving system twice at the greatest, and performs distance measuring operations, which include a passive distance measurement and an active distance measurement, based on the data output by the light receiving system.

Abstract: In a homodyne-receiver radar system used for ranging and/or target detection, the frequency-modulated (FM) transmit phase are removed from the received signal. Removal of the known FM transmit phase from the received signal reduces the bandwidth of the received signal to half that of a system that does not remove the transmit phase. This allows the sampling rate, and thus the processor throughput, to be cut in half. With the FM transmit phase removed, the phase sequence of the processed signal is akin to a delayed version of the transmit signal phase history. This allows the range processing to use segments of a single phase sequence for processing all range gates, resulting in a large reduction in the amount of coefficient storage used for the matched-phase sequences required to process the set of range gates.

Abstract: A method and system of combining gated intensifiers and advances in solid-state, short-pulse laser technology, compact systems capable of producing high resolution (i.e., approximately less than 20 centimeters) optical images through a scattering medium such as dense clouds, fog, smoke, etc. may be achieved from air or ground based platforms. Laser target designation through a scattering medium is also enabled by utilizing a short pulse illumination laser and a relatively minor change to the detectors on laser guided munitions.