Tired of having to use a separate sensor for different missions, the Army wants one sensor that can do it all.
Through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposal, the Army is looking for a single electro-optical sensor that can perform multiple missions. And now the time seems ripe, according to Army researchers. "Recent advances in sensor technology, optical design, compressive sensing, optical computing, information processing and systems engineering have opened up the possibilities to develop truly multi-mission sensor system, much like human visual system, which can easily and quickly adapt to accomplish significantly different tasks in changing environment," the SBIR notice reads.
Related: Army looking for inexpensive ground sensors
The sensor would allow real-time adjustment of numerous parameters depending on mission, such as spectral, spatial, temporal resolution, the field of view of the sensor system and latency in exploitation. For example, for wide area homemade explosive detection, the sensor system will be able to capture and exploit a wide field of view. When a suspected explosive device is found, the sensor will shift to a narrower field with higher resolution imagery to confirm and identify.
Resource: Read the SBIR notice
