The Boeing Company

Brandoch Calef

Steven Fulton Griffin

David Roderick Gerwe

Richard B Holmes

Paul S Idell

An aperture partitioning element for an imaging system is disclosed. The aperture partitioning element includes a plurality of segments each including a reflective surface and a body. The plurality of segments are each independently moveable in at least one of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis of the aperture partitioning element. The aperture partitioning element also includes at least one positioner received within the body of a corresponding segment. The at least one positioner is actuated to move the corresponding segment in at least one of the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis.

Active aperture partitioning for an imaging system

Systems and methods which combine standard image reconstruction and beam-control techniques with tomographic estimation of three-dimensional atmospheric turbulence to enable high-quality anisoplanatic imaging of distant objects at long range through the atmosphere over an extended field-of-view using a large aperture. More specifically, the systems and methods combine the concepts of atmospheric tomography, forward-model image reconstruction and tip, tilt, beam-walk, and focus control techniques to produce image reconstructions of high quality for large objects that move rapidly as viewed by large apertures in weak or strong extended atmospheric turbulence.

Lenslet, beamwalk and tilt diversity for anisoplanatic imaging by large-aperture telescopes

A method and apparatus for reducing blur in an image generated by an imaging system is provided. A blur model for the image is identified with respect to an exposure time for the image using a sequence of reference images of an artificial reference point object generated during the exposure time for the image. A source of the artificial reference point object is inertially stabilized over the exposure time. The image is deconvolved with the blur model identified for the image to form a modified image having a desired reduction in blur relative to the image generated by the imaging system.

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Kihei, HI, United States of America

Brandoch Calef