Automating a lasercomm terminal on a small unmanned aerial platform

W. R. Smith IV; H. R. Burris; M. J. Vilcheck; C. I. Moore; L. L. Summers; L. M. Thomas

doi:10.1117/12.921303

23 May 2012 Automating a lasercomm terminal on a small unmanned aerial platform

W. R. Smith IV, H. R. Burris, M. J. Vilcheck, C. I. Moore, L. L. Summers, L. M. Thomas

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8380, Atmospheric Propagation IX; 838005 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.921303
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2012, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Abstract

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is developing a small lasercomm terminal for both direct lasercomm and communication to a modulated retroreflector (MRR). A gimbal from Cloud Cap Technology serves as the terminal positioner, which is to be integrated onto a small, unmanned airborne vehicle. Software was developed to allow the terminal to automatically acquire and track ground terminals and manage the lasercomm payload. This software turns the terminal into a completely autonomous lasercom system, able to travel well outside the communications range of its base station and collect data from ground terminals with no user intervention. Data from boat testing will be presented to show pointing accuracies as well as automatic acquisition and tracking of static targets.

Citation Download Citation

W. R. Smith IV, H. R. Burris, M. J. Vilcheck, C. I. Moore, L. L. Summers, and L. M. Thomas "Automating a lasercomm terminal on a small unmanned aerial platform", Proc. SPIE 8380, Atmospheric Propagation IX, 838005 (23 May 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.921303

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

;

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
9 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Liquid crystals

Sensors

Optical tracking

Filtering (signal processing)

Analog electronics

Software development

Laser development

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years