Ltv Aerospace & Defense Company

Donald T Cottingham

James D Billingsley

The specification discloses a method and apparatus for stabilizing images in the reference frame of a forward or down looking infrared receiver moving relative to the scene. An infrared modulator (14) is disposed in the image plane of the receiver for imaging infrared energy from the scene. The modulator (14), normally nonreflecting of infrared energy incident thereon, is capable of having reflective spots written on selected locations thereon to reflect infrared energy incident at those locations. Detectors (24) positioned to detect infrared energy reflected from the modulator provide an output signal representing the radiance values of the sampled scene element. A microprocessor (30) is connected to the detector, responsive to the detected output signal, to detect image motion caused by relative motion between the receiver and the scene from the detected information. The microprocessor (30) provides transform information about the transformation from reference frame to modulator coordinates such that infrared energy reflected from the modulator will appear stabilized to a sampling frame in the computer during relative motion between the telescope and the scene. Interface electronics (32) connected to the microprocessor (30) converts selected sampling points in the window frame coordinates to modulator coordinates at which coordinates an electron gun (21) writes reflective spots on the modulator.

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Dallas, TX, United States of America

Donald T Cottingham