Honeywell International Inc.

Grant Lodden

Xiao Zhu Fan

Robert D Horning

Matthew Wiebold

John Reinke

Jason Garde

Danny Thomas Kimmel

Jane Pavlich

Ryan Supino

David Michael Zuk

David Keith Johnson

Dominique Claire Fourguette

Daniel Endean

Brett Gordon Northcutt

Earl Thomas Benser

David Johnson

David Zuk

Brett Gorrdon Northcutt

In one embodiment, a system includes a vehicle and a laser air data sensor, including a laser transceiver configured to transmit one or more laser light beams, mounted to the vehicle. In some embodiments, a window of the laser transceiver is fixed and oriented to transmit one or more laser light beams away from the vehicle and approximately parallel to a vertical axis of the vehicle. In some embodiments, a window of the laser transceiver is fixed and oriented to transmit one or more laser light beams toward another portion of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the system further includes a processing device configured to control the laser air data sensor to attenuate the one or more laser light beams based on one or more operating parameters of the vehicle.

Laser air data sensor mounting and operation for eye safety

A system for obtaining air data for a vehicle comprises a laser device that emits laser light pulses, and transmit optics that transmits the light pulses into an external air volume adjacent to the vehicle. The system also includes receive optics that collects scattered portions of the light pulses from the external air volume, and a whispering gallery mode (WGM) frequency discriminator that receives the scattered portions of the light pulses from the receive optics. The WGM frequency discriminator includes at least one WGM resonator that outputs a selected portion of the light pulses at one or more optical signal frequencies via tuning the WGM resonator other than by an electro-optic effect. An optical detector samples the selected portion of the light pulses from the WGM frequency discriminator, and converts the sampled light pulses to scalar values. A processing unit receives and records the scalar values from the optical detector.

Whispering gallery mode based range-resolved air data system

An air data system comprises an optical air data sensor onboard a vehicle, and includes an optical transceiver at a first location that is spaced apart from a second location on the vehicle corresponding to the vehicle center of gravity. The optical transceiver has at least one line-of-sight that is fixed relative to body axes of the vehicle, transmits light along the line-of-sight into an external interaction air region, and collects a scattered portion of the transmitted light. The system also includes onboard inertial sensors configured to measure rotation rates of the vehicle and generate rotation rate data. An onboard processor communicates with the air data sensor and the inertial sensors. The processor computes at least one line-of-sight velocity based on the collected scattered portion of the transmitted light, corrects the line-of-sight velocity for rotation rate induced bias, and computes air data parameters based on the corrected line-of-sight velocity.

Compensation of an optical air data system using inertial aiding

In one embodiment, a method of determining the onset of a stall condition in a vehicle is provided. The method comprises: measuring, with a stall detection system, data which would indicate the presence of turbulent fluid flowing proximate to a foil; determining from the data whether an onset of a stall condition has occurred; and upon determining the onset of the stall condition, performing at least one of: issuing an alert, and causing the vehicle to avoid or exit the stall condition, and cease such activity when the onset of the stall condition no longer exists.

Apparatus and method for detecting stall condition

Systems and methods for noise and drift calibration using dithered calibration, a system comprising a processing unit; and two or more dithered calibrated sensors that provide directional measurements to the processing unit, wherein a dithered calibrated sensor in the dithered calibrated sensors has an input axis that rotates about an axis such that bias error can be removed by the processing unit; wherein the dithered calibrated sensor provides a zero-bias measurement along a first axis and a low-noise measurement along a second axis, the second axis being orthogonal to the first axis; wherein the dithered calibrated sensors are arranged such that the dithered calibrated sensor provide low-noise and zero-bias measurements along the measured axes; and wherein the processing unit executes an algorithm to combine measurements that are along the same axis to produce a measurement for each measured axis that has both low-noise and zero-bias.

Systems and methods for noise and drift calibration using dithered calibration

A method of enhancing LiDAR data is provided. The method includes inputting LiDAR data from at least one LiDAR sensor; inputting data from at least one of: at least one static pressure sensor; and at least one total air temperature sensor; and extracting accurate air data parameters by processing one of: the LiDAR data and static pressure data from the static pressure sensor; the LiDAR data and true temperature data from the total air temperature sensor; or the LiDAR data, the static pressure data from the static pressure sensor, and the true temperature data from the total air temperature sensor. The method also includes generating augmented air data based on the extracted accurate air data parameters and outputting the augmented air data.

Enhanced LiDAR air data using supplementary sensor outputs

A system for multispectral imaging and ranging is provided. The system comprises at least one light illumination source, and a focal plane detector array configured to support both passive imaging and active imaging at multiple wavelengths. The focal plane detector array includes a plurality of pixels, wherein each of the pixels comprises a plurality of detectors. The detectors are configured to collect passive light to support passive imaging; collect retro-reflected light, transmitted by the at least one light illumination source, to support active illuminated imaging; and collect retro-reflected light, transmitted by the at least one light illumination source, to support active illuminated ranging.

Chip scale multispectral imaging and ranging

A method of fabricating three-dimensional (3D) structures comprises forming a patterned area in a handle wafer, and bonding a mold wafer over the patterned area to produce one or more sealed cavities having a first pressure in the handle wafer. The mold wafer is heated past its softening point at a second pressure different from the first pressure to create a differential pressure across the mold wafer over the sealed cavities. The mold wafer is then cooled to harden the mold wafer into one or more 3D shapes over the sealed cavities. One or more materials are deposited on an outer surface of the mold wafer over the 3D shapes to form a structure layer having 3D structures that conform to the hardened 3D shapes of the mold wafer. The 3D structures are then bonded to a device wafer, and the handle wafer is removed to expose the 3D structures.

Fabrication of three-dimensional structures using reflowed molding

A method for fabricating a thermally isolated microelectromechanical system (MEMS) structure is provided. The method includes processing a first wafer of a first material with a glass wafer to form a composite substrate including at least one sacrificial structure of the first material and glass; forming a MEMS device in a second material; forming at least one temperature sensing element on at least one of: the composite substrate; and the MEMS device; and etching away the at least one sacrificial structure of the first material in the composite substrate to form at least one thermally isolating glass flexure. The MEMS device is thermally isolated on a thermal isolation stage by the at least one thermally isolating glass flexure. The at least one temperature sensing element in on a respective at least one of: the thermal isolation stage; and the MEMS device.

Monolithic fabrication of thermally isolated microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices

A temperature stabilized device and method for temperature stabilization are provided. The temperature stabilized device comprises a substrate having a first surface, at least one component mounted on the first surface of the substrate, and a first conformal layer comprising a thermoelectric material, with the first conformal layer over the at least one component. A first temperature control circuit is electrically coupled to the first conformal layer. The first temperature control circuit is configured to control a current through the first conformal layer. The current through the first conformal layer is controlled to maintain the at least one component at a target operating temperature.

Systems and methods for device temperature stabilization

System and methods for highly integrated optical readout MEMS sensors are provided. In one embodiment, a method for an integrated waveguide optical-pickoff sensor comprises: launching a laser beam generated by a laser light source into an integrated waveguide optical-pickoff monolithically fabricated within a first substrate, the integrated waveguide optical-pickoff including an optical input port, a coupling port, and an optical output port; and detecting an amount of coupling of the laser beam from the coupling port to a sensor component separated from the coupling port by a gap by measuring an attenuation of the laser beam at the optical output port.

System and methods for highly integrated optical readout MEMS sensors

Systems and methods for a time-based optical pickoff for MEMS sensors are provided. In one embodiment, a method for an integrated waveguide time-based optical-pickoff sensor comprises: launching a light beam generated by a light source into an integrated waveguide optical-pickoff monolithically fabricated within a first substrate, the integrated waveguide optical-pickoff including an optical input port, a coupling port, and an optical output port; and detecting changes in an area of overlap between the coupling port and a moving sensor component separated from the coupling port by a gap by measuring an attenuation of the light beam at the optical output port, wherein the moving sensor component is moving in-plane with respect a surface of the first substrate comprising the coupling port and the coupling port is positioned to detect movement of an edge of the moving sensor component.

Systems and methods for a time-based optical pickoff for MEMS sensors

In an embodiment a method of fabricating a MEMS structure is provided. The method includes fabricating a working structure in a doped layer proximate a first surface of a silicon substrate. The first surface of the silicon substrate is bonded to a first planar glass structure having a first one or more sacrificial features embedded therein. The method also includes etching to remove a bulk of the silicon substrate, wherein the bulk is reverse of the first surface on the silicon substrate, wherein etching removes the bulk and leaves the working structure bonded to the first planar glass structure. The method also includes etching to remove the first one or more sacrificial features from the first planar glass structure.

Growing community of inventors

Minnetrista, MN, United States of America

Grant Lodden