Electro-optical imaging array and camera system with pitch rate image

Abstract

A camera system is described which is based on an electro-optical imaging array performs electronic image motion compensation without moving parts during a reconnaissance maneuver in which the aircraft is experiencing a non-zero rate of change in the pitch axis, such as in a dive bomb maneuver when the pilot is pulling out of the dive. The camera system has a camera control computer that calculates a pixel information transfer rate for the array based on parameters supplied by the aircraft's navigation system and pre-mission known parameters, including the aircraft's velocity, height above ground, attach angle, pitch angle, and rate of change in pitch during the period in which the array is taking successive exposures of the scene. The camera control computer supplies information to the drive and control electronics that control the transfer of pixel information in the array. In a preferred embodiment, the array is exposed to the scene of interest in a series of rapid exposure intervals and generates a frame of imagery during each exposure. By virtue of the electronic image motion compensation, each frame of imagery is a high resolution image of the scene of interest, far surpassing images created by an electro-optical array if the present image motion compensation technique were not performed.