Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.

Bae Systems Spectral Solutions LLC

Michael J DeWeert

Andrew N Acker

Reid A Noguchi

Dugan C Yoon

Brian P Farm

Eric M Louchard

Jacob D Garan

Gary Sawai

Michael J Choiniere

Pierre-Alain S Auroux

Ian B Murray

Don A Harris

Myeongseob Kim

Brian Chock

Michael Bowers

Michael L Dichner

Tamara O'Toole

Clint Yoshimura

Miles Topping

Andrew W Sparks

A system and method is provided to characterize optical properties (Scattering, attenuation, de-polarization) of a light-transmitting medium and local environment, by determining a scattering rate of light through a medium, wherein determining the scattering rate of light through the medium is accomplished by utilizing polarized light transmitted from an optical source. The system and method performs a function based on the characterized optical properties of the medium, wherein the function is one of, for example: detection of objects embedded in the medium, object ranging through the medium, or deblurring of images acquired through the medium.

System and method of utilizing polarized light for remote optical characterization of and through scattering media

A laser transmission assembly for shearography and related systems utilizing transmissive geometric phase plate pairs in place of Risley prism pairs or movable mirrors therein. Transmissive geometric phase plates provide for a system that is more compact than systems utilizing mirrors or Risley prism pairs while maintaining or improving the adjustability of the system and further offering beamshaping to provide desired illumination patterns.

Geometric phase based motion compensation for shearography

The present disclosure provides a system and method for determining a range to an object in a fluid. The system includes a polarized light source directed to the object in the fluid, a first imaging sensor, a second imaging sensor, and at least one processor. The at least one processor characterizes a depolarization rate of the fluid and determines the range to the object. The method includes generating polarized light via a polarized light source, polarizing an imager relative to the polarized light, transmitting the polarized light from the polarized light source into the fluid, receiving reflected light from the object, characterizing a depolarization rate of the fluid, based, at least in part, on the reflected light, and determining the range to the object, based, at least in part, on the depolarization rate of the fluid.

LIDAR polarimetry

An underwater imaging system is carried by a submersible platform to capture images that are processed into three-dimensional images stitched together to create a 3D dimensional video at video rate speeds that are transmitted to a control unit above the surface of the water. The imaging system utilizes a high speed image sensor or camera to capture sequential gated images that are synced via a gating module to two sequential laser beam pulses. The laser beam pulses illuminate an object in each gated image. When the object is within a gate overlap region, the two images may be processed using 3D imaging techniques to generate a 3D representation of the object in the overlap region of the two gates.

System and method for generating three-dimensional imagery

Underwater navigational systems and methods utilizing sunlight polarized via scattering through the water column that does not require an underwater vehicle to surface or use a global position system to maintain precise navigational positions and headings. These navigational systems and methods may be employed by manned or unmanned underwater vehicles and may be utilized by individual units and by units operating in a swarm.

Covert underwater navigation via polarimetry

A self-localizing autonomous underwater vehicle swarm that is operable to accurately localize each individual unit within the swarm while only requiring a single node at a known location to do so. The methods described herein can localize all members of a swarm with minimal, if any, effect on the size, weight, power, and cost of a system.

Method for self-localizing of an ad hoc network of in-water systems

A shearography a system and method for regularizing phase resolved shearograms with an arctan regularization function to produce regularized phase resolved shearogram outputs is provided. The system and method of the present disclosure optimizes the processing of phase resolved shearography allowing interference fringe analysis techniques to be applied to the regularized phase resolved shearogram output results of the processing.

Regularized shearograms for phase resolved shearography

Systems and methods for three-dimensional (3D) shape estimation of objects embedded in light-scattering media via polarimetry are provided. The systems and methods utilize polarization to exploit forward scattering in the light-scattering medium to mitigate backscatter interference (BSI).

Three-dimensional shape estimation of objects via polarimetry

Systems and methods for double-exposure image processing utilizing inversion techniques are provided. The systems and methods of the present disclosure recover single-exposure images from double-exposure images and strain images from double-exposure images.

Method for double-exposure image processing

Systems and methods for computationally simulating and optimizing shearography systems are provided. The systems and methods for simulation and optimization avoid ray tracing, and, instead, implement a phase screen approach to image computation. The systems and methods include physics-based surface texture and surface motion simulations, the application of phase screens to computer-generated simulations of shearographic remote sensing, and the inclusion of de-polarization due to multiple scattering and birefringence at a surface being imaged. The systems and methods include further greatly optimize diffraction computations by treating an optical transfer function (OTF) of an arbitrary aperture as a sum of separable OTFs.

Systems and methods for simulation of shearographic imaging

The system and method for using morpho photonic structures to form small, lightweight imagers for use with SWIR, MWIR and LWIR. In some cases, the morpho photonic structure imagers are used in googles. The morpho photonic structure imagers have a frame rate ranging from 100 Hz to 200 Hz. In some cases, using a cluster of short wave infrared, mid wave infrared, and long wave infrared sensors to form a multi-spectral image is used to scan for chemical fingerprints.

Broad band camera core

Systems and methods for computationally simulating an optical image are provided. The systems and methods generate a simulated scene having at least one variable optical property, compute an optical transfer function (OTF) via at least one computed phase screen, express the OTF as a sum of at least one separable OTF, convolve the at least one separable OTF with the simulated scene to simulate electromagnetic (EM) fields of the optical image, and compute image intensities of the optical image from the simulated EM fields of the optical image.

Systems and methods for simulation

Systems and methods related to pre-processing images and estimating PSFs for image deblurring in a noise-robust manner. The pre-processing may include iteratively denoising a reference image, iteratively denoising a scene image containing at least one straight edge within the scene image while preserving the at least one straight edge. The pre-processing may include smoothing, subtracting and dividing to provide a pre-processed image. The PSF-estimation process may include generating, with the at least one processor, a first noise value from portions of an edge intensity profile, generating a second noise value from a difference between the edge intensity profile and an integral of the noise-regularized inversion of the integration operator operating on the edge intensity profile and determining a value of a local curvature regularization parameter resulting in the first noise value and the second noise value being within a tolerance range.

Methods for image denoising and deblurring

An object detection system uses a change in a linear polarization statistic between a first image at a first time and a second image at a second time to determine the presence or the likelihood of an object beneath a surface. The presence of the object may be determined by regions of anomalously high changes in the polarization statistic. The system may use a polarization change detection detector which may simultaneously capture images in multiple polarization channels. Further, the polarization change detection detector may be coupled with a laser interferometry system.

Polarization change detection

A system and method are presented for generating shearograms from raw specklegram images which may, for example, be collected from airborne or other mobile shearography equipment. The system and method is used to detect and characterize buried mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and underground tunnels, bunkers, and other structures. Amongst other purposes, the system and method may also be used for rapid scanning of ship hulls and aircraft for hidden structural defects, rapid pipeline inspection, and non-contact acoustic sensing for in-water and underground sources.

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Kaneohe, HI, United States of America

Michael J DeWeert