Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus and method which partially ionizes a portion of the gas flow through a shock wave, employing the electrostatic forces produced by the resultant ion doped region in and behind the shock wave to reduce the intensify of the shock wave. Such a method or apparatus is detailed to be employed at the tips of a rotating compressor or turbine blade; to the flow through a gas duct in an aircraft engine inlet; at the tips of a propeller or rotorcraft blade or on the surfaces or an aircraft.

Abstract: A vehicle imaging surveillance and recording system adapted to monitor conditions prevailing during the course of a trip and provided for this purpose cameras are placed in the control station of the vehicle and about the vehicle. At least two recording devices record the output of the cameras. One device records a thirty minute high resolution image. The second device records a two hour lower resolution image. Both devices compress the data that is to be recorded in storage. The output signals yielded from storage are fed into an on-board transmitter to modulate a carrier that is radiated from the vehicle and intercepted by an active communications satellite. These output signals are being transmitted only under certain conditions. One condition is to provide a switch under the control of a crew member in the control station of the vehicle. The other condition provides for automatically switching on the transmission to the satellite when certain parameters occur.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for impingement on the sonic wave produced by a supersonic gas flow and the gas flow in a boundary layer of a gas that interfaces with a solid substrate comprising providing a source of a mixture of ions and electrons, introducing said ions and electrons into the region behind the sonic wave and ahead of the boundary layer, separating said ions and said electrons in said region maintaining a substantial portion of said ions proximate said region and maintaining a substantial portion of said electrons remote from said region.

Abstract: The invented apparatus fuses two or more sensor signals to generate a fused signal with an improved confidence of target existence and position. The invented apparatus includes gain, control and fusion units, and can also include an integration unit. The integration unit receives signals generated by two or more sensors, and generates integrated signals based on the sensor signals. The integration unit performs temporal and weighted spatial integration of the sensor signals, to generate respective sets of integrated signals supplied to the gain control and fusion units. The gain control unit uses a preprogrammed function to map the integrated signals to an output signal that is scaled to generate a gain signal supplied to the fusion unit. The fusion unit uses a preprogrammed function to map its received integrated signals and the gain signal, to a fused signal that is the output of the invented apparatus.