TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: The AN/BVS-1 (Photonics Mast) is an ACAT III Program. ISIS is an ACAT IV.

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

OBJECTIVE: Simultaneously acquire regions of low and high visual light intensity within a single imaged scene, meaning 120 db or more of dynamic range, to allow characterization of ISR-quality imagery data for submarine imaging systems.

DESCRIPTION: Imaging sensor (camera) quality can be broadly characterized by two parameters, sampling and dynamic range. Sampling can be equated with the number of pixels in a sensor. The number of pixels you place on target allows a camera to resolve finer details about the target. The technological maturity of camera CCD and CMOS sensor chips is such that over ten million pixels can be built onto a chip, and these chips can be even be combined so that sensor arrays of tens to hundreds of millions of pixels can be produced.

However, to achieve these large arrays, pixels have gotten smaller, which has severely limited their capability to be sensitive to large spectrum of light levels within a scene. The typical visual imaging sensor only has the capability to acquire images that contain a couple decades of light intensity (lux), typically 60 dB, otherwise the scenery washes out if it is too bright, or cannot be collected at all if it is too dark, and valuable data and details are lost in both instances. In professional photography or film, scenes are built such that this scenario doesn’t occur. However, in real tactical scenarios, with sun glare, front-lighting, and backlighting of targets or coastal scenes, imaged scenes will inherently have areas of high light intensity and low light intensity, and the range of the intensity will be ten or more decades of intensity, or 120 dB or more. With a typical visual imaging sensor, this means that valuable details of the scene cannot be collected, the details in the shadows or bright lights, severely impacting Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) effectiveness.

Image processing algorithms such as local or adaptive contrast enhancement can produce some post-image data capture improvement in scene dynamic range, but original data has inherently already been lost that will never be restored to the image because of limitation of the cameras. The goal of this effort to develop and field an imaging sensor technology that captures the data at the front end so it is not lost. This sensor shall provide over 120 dB of dynamic range or more, provide high sampling resolution (1.9 million pixels or more, in either 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios), while operating at 30 frames per second or more.

PHASE I: Define the performance characteristics for the sensor. Document the novel design of the pixels or pixel control method that provides the high dynamic range performance. Provide analysis and calculations showing how this design supports the requirements. Produce prototype sensor and evaluate against performance requirements in laboratory environment or factory level environment. Assess any required changes, and produce a more mature design if necessary. Document results in a final report.

PHASE II: Develop camera design using sensor from Phase I such that the camera meets all submarine periscope environmental requirements. Produce prototype. Insert into periscope at factory level and conduct testing. Document results and produce final report.

PHASE III: If successfully demonstrated in Phase II, participate in imaging trials during at sea testing on a surface ship or submarine. Fleet implementation may be accomplished through Technology Insertion (TI) upgrade to existing submarine imaging systems.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS:
-Security Cameras
-Robotic Cameras
-Automotive Cameras

REFERENCES:
1. A. El Gamal: "High Dynamic Range Image Sensorsï", Tutorial at International Solid-State Circuits Conference, February 2002, Available: http://www.isl.stanford.edu/~abbas/group/papers_and_pub/isscc02_tutorial.pdf

2. S. Kavusi and A. El Gamal, "Quantitative study of high dynamic range image sensor architectures," in Sensors, Cameras, and Systems for Scientific/Industrial Applications, M. M. Blouke, G. M. W. Jr., and R. J. Motta, eds., Proc. SPIE 5301, January 2004.

KEYWORDS: Contact Tracking; Contact Surveillance; Vulnerability to Counter Detection; Counter-Detection Threat Reduction; Active Camouflage; Visual Sensors; Fiber Optic Surfaces

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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