Trw Limited

Bill H Quon

James E Eninger

Bruce I Hauss

M Larry Yujiri

Paul S Lee

Steven W Fornaca

Karen E Yokoyama

Adding a quantity of metallic shot or particles of other materials having a high dielectric constant to the thermoplastic paint in the mixing pot of ordinary roadway marker fixation equipment, which extrudes the paint and applies same to the roadway surface, enhances the MMW radiometric visibility of the marker without adverse effect to the affixation equipment. Vehicles containing MMW radiometers directed down toward the roadway surface moves along the roadway surface is able to automatically sense microwave/millimeter wave energy from a marker in the vehicles path. In one system, the sensed energy is used in conjunction with other apparatus to assist to guide the vehicle within a traffic lane. In another system, the sensed energy is decoded and displayed as pertinent information for the vehicle's driver.

Enhanced paint for microwave/millimeter wave radiometric detection applications and method of road marker detection

Enhanced paint for microwave/millimeter wave radiometric detection

A method of calibrating gains and offsets for a two-dimensional detector array 10 comprising individual detector elements 14, including: (a) focusing a first incoming image signal at a first power level onto the detector array 10; (b) reading the corresponding electrical signals from the detector elements 14 as a first image frame at the first power level; (c) for each detector element 14, translating the first incoming image signal by a detector element distance onto an adjacent detector element; (d) reading the corresponding electrical signal from the detector elements 14 as a second image frame at the first power level; (e) focusing a second incoming image signal at a second power level onto the detector array 10; (f) reading the corresponding electrical signals from the detector elements 14 as a first image frame at the second power level; (g) for each detector element 14, translating the second incoming image signal by a detector element distance onto an adjacent detector element; (h) reading the corresponding electrical signals from the detector elements 14 as a second image frame at the second power level; (i) selecting a reference detector element 18; (j) determining the gain of detector elements adjacent to the reference detector element 18; and (k) determining the offset of the adjacent detector elements 14.

Focal plane array calibration method

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Aliso Viejo, CA, United States of America

Bill H Quon