Bae Systems, Inc.

Laycock, Leslie Charles

Griffith, Michael Stewart

Blyth, Peter

Michael Stewart Griffith

Leslie Charles Laycock

Andrew James Williams

Nicholas John Archer

Andrew Graham McCarthy

Imdad Sajjad Badruddin Sardharwalla

Peter Blyth

Nicholas Giacomo Robert Colosimo

Lydia Ann Hyde

David Andrew Cocksedge

Stephen Derek Finch

Ivan Vallejo Veiga

Sharon Radcliffe

Charles Leslie Laycock

Adrian Simon Blagg

Ferhat Culfaz

Hywel John Mcardle

A multi-aperture free-space optical communications receiver comprises a plurality of telescopes each having a clear objective aperture with a diameter between 50 mm and 250 mm and arranged for receiving light collectively from an optical communications light source. A coherent combiner unit is configured for coherently combining the collectively received light to produce a combined optical signal therewith. Each telescope is arranged in association with, respectively, a wavefront detector to determine a wavefront of said received light directed to it by the respective telescope, a steerable reflector unit including a deformable mirror controllable to deform according to said determined wavefront such that said received light is reflected by the deformable mirror with a modified wavefront, and an optical signal receiver comprising a single-mode optical fibre. The steerable reflector unit is steerable to input received light with modified wavefront into the single-mode optical fibre for reception by the optical signal receiver.

Multi-aperture free-space optical communications receiver

The invention relates to the field of Free Space Optics (FSO), more specifically it is directed to: a method of obtaining a connection between at least two optical signal nodes, of a FSO, communication system each node comprising a transmitting device and receiving device; and

Optical signal transmitter

An optical system () comprising: a transmitter module () configured to transmit a sequence of optical pulses (), each optical pulse in the sequence () having a different magnitude to each other optical pulse in the sequence (); a receiver module () comprising one or more optical signal detectors, the receiver module () configured to receive the sequence of optical pulses () transmitted by the transmitter module (); and one or more processors () configured to process the sequence of optical pulses received by the receiver module () to select an optical pulse from the received sequence of optical pulses () based on one or more predetermined criteria. The one or more predetermined criteria include a criterion that the selected optical pulse does not saturate the one or more optical signal detectors.

Optical sensing and communications system

Apparatus for and method of transmitting an optical signal by a Free Space Optical, FSO, communication system, the method comprising: transmitting, by an optical signal transmitter (), an optical signal () into at least part of a volume of an optical medium (); and controlling, by a controller, the optical signal transmitter (), to scan the at least part of the volume () using the optical signal () in a sequence of non-overlapping loops (). The sequence of non-overlapping loops () may be a sequence of non-overlapping, concentric circular loops.

Optical communication device

A free space optical communication system receiver () comprising: a central optical sensor (); and a plurality of further optical sensors (-) disposed around a peripheral edge of the central optical sensor (). The free space optical communication system receiver () may be coupled to means for moving the free space optical communication system receiver () relative to an incoming optical signal (). A controller () may be configured to, using measurements of the incident optical signal () by the plurality of further optical sensors (-), control the means so as to move the free space optical communication system receiver () relative to the incident optical signal ().

Free space optical communication system receiver

Imaging apparatus on a host platform having an external surface, the external surface comprising a first surface facing a first direction and a second surface facing a second direction, the second direction being different to the first, the apparatus comprising a first and second plurality of single pixel detectors () distributed about said external surface such that the first plurality of single pixel detectors are distributed over the first surface and the second plurality of single pixel detectors are distributed over the second surface, each single pixel detector being configured to receive radiation reflected by an object or region of interest () and generate two-dimensional image data representative thereof, the apparatus further comprising an image processing module () for receiving said two-dimensional image data from each of a plurality of single pixel detectors () and reconstructing a three-dimensional image of said object or region of interest () using a ghost imaging algorithm.

Imaging apparatus and method having an image processing module reconstructing a three dimensional image from two dimensional image data using a ghost imaging algorithm

The following invention relates to an optical device for use in a system that requires optical zoom or focus abilities, particularly for providing pre-set zoom parameters with a very low energy requirement. There is provided an optical magnification device comprising at least one pair of optically aligned deformable reflectors, wherein each reflector pair has at least two configurations, wherein selection of a first and a second configuration of said deformable reflector pairs provides pre-defined magnification states, such that in any configuration one reflector is substantially concave and the other is substantially convex; at least one controller may cause both the reflectors to move between said at least two configurations.

Optical magnification device with a pair of bistable deformable reflectors

There is disclosed a directional multi-band antenna comprising: a primary reflector, at least one secondary reflector, a multi-layer dielectric layer selectively reflective or transmissive of incident radiation according to wavelength, the layer being provided at the surface of either the primary or the secondary reflector, an RF unit comprising a collocated sensor and transmitter, an Optical unit comprising a collocated sensor and transmitter, arranged such that the primary reflector is for passing signals between the secondary reflector and the environment, the secondary reflector is firstly for passing signals between the primary reflector and the RF unit, and secondly for passing signals between the primary reflector and the Optical unit and arranged such that the antenna is operable to transmit or receive, RF or Optical signals, along a common beam axis.

Directional multi-band antenna

There is disclosed A directional multi-band antenna, the antenna comprising: &#x2014;an optical unit comprising an optical sensor; &#x2014;an RF unit comprising an RF sensor; &#x2014;a substantially planar optical lens, the optical lens comprising surface relief elements for beam forming, the lens being arranged to focus optical signal beams, incident along a first optical axis, onto the optical sensor, the optical lens being substantially transparent to RF signals, &#x2014;an RF beam forming device arranged to receive RF signals incident along the first optical axis and focus such RF signals onto the RF sensor.

Directional multiband antenna

There is disclosed a directional multi-band antenna comprising a substrate structure, a plurality of RF units arranged at the substrate structure to provide an RF phased array, the RF phased array having an angular scan range, an array of optical units arranged at the substrate structure and interspersed amongst the RF units, an array of optical lensing devices supported over the substrate structure, the array of optical lensing devices being substantially RF transmissive and being arranged to correspond with the arrangement of the optical units, such that each optical unit may communicate light signals with an associated optical lensing device so as to communicate light signals along an optical axis within the angular scan range of the RF phased array.

There is disclosed a spectral imaging apparatus for processing electromagnetic (EM) radiation, the EM radiation originating from a target scene and comprising a wide range of frequencies, the system comprising: A dispersive element for receiving EM radiation from the target scene and promoting differing amounts of dispersion depending on the frequency of the EM radiation, A deformable lens arranged to receive EM radiation from the dispersive element, An imaging sensor for detecting EM radiation across the wide range of frequencies, and arranged to receive EM radiation from the deformable lens, Wherein the deformable lens is operable to adopt any one of a plurality of focal conditions, each focal condition tending to focus a different range of the EM radiation at the imaging sensor, each focal condition thereby defining a component band for the EM radiation.

Spectral imaging

A method and apparatus for compensating for hysteresis in a system, the method comprising: determining a required input to the system from an output of the system using the Preisach model with the input of the Preisach model corresponding to the output of the system, and with the output of the Preisach model corresponding to the input of the system. The system may be an adaptive optics system. The input x may be an input voltage of an actuator that deforms a mirror, and the output y may be a value of a displacement of a mirror.

Compensating for hysteresis

A display assembly, comprising: a display device (); a microlens array (); and an eye tracker (), for example a pupil tracker (), and/or a head tracker; wherein plural pixels () or sub-pixels of the display device () are provided for each microlens () of the microlens array (). The display may be adapted such that only certain pixels/sub-pixels () are activated/selected for any particular determined pupil/eye/head position, for example such that for each microlens (), only one respective pixel/sub-pixel () is activated/selected for any particular determined pupil/eye/head position. The display device () may be a transparent display device (), the microlens array () may be a switchable microlens array (), and the display assembly may further comprise a light blocking device () that is switchable between a substantially light blocking state and a substantially light passing state.

Display assembly, in particular a head mounted display

A method and apparatus for compensating for hysteresis in a system, the method comprising: determining a first estimate of a system parameter using the Preisach model; measuring a value of a system parameter; and determining an updated estimate of the estimated system parameter using the measured value of a system parameter. The measured system parameter may be the same system parameter as the system parameter for which the first estimate is determined using the Preisach model, or it may be a further system parameter that is a different system parameter to the system parameter for which the first estimate is determined using the Preisach model. Determining the updated estimate of the estimated system parameter may further use the first estimate of the estimated system parameter, or it may further use a corresponding determined value of the further system parameter.

A fluidic lens includes a cavitycontaining an optically transparent liquid and bounded by optically transparent wallsarranged such that light may pass into the fluid via one wall and exit from the fluid via another wall, at least one said wall including at least one optically transparent piezoelectric element which is deformable so as to change the shape of the cavity.

Growing community of inventors

Chelmsford, United Kingdom

Michael Stewart Griffith