ARETE ASSOCIATES — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: A20-052

Description

The Army has identified potential shortcomings in the handheld designator/marker technology of future compact designator systems when targeting moving targets.  A smaller, lighter laser designator system combined with automatic tracking and pointing will enhance the soldier’s mobility and reduce fatigue.  A miniature, lightweight laser beam stabilizer component is required to maintain the required volume and weight of the handheld laser designator/marker.  Arete proposes a Monolithic LOS Stabilized (MLOSS) laser designator/marker system was designed based on innovative laser beam steering technology.  The design developed will demonstrate meeting the performance metrics as defined by the system requirements for a moving target. The approach uses a lens shift technique that is able to meet the large angular dynamic range while simultaneously meeting the necessary precision.  Both a low risk and moderate risk lens actuator technology are used to meet the design requirements with a diffraction limited optical design.  The external disturbances (hand tremor) are detected using a MEMS IMU consisting of angular rate gyroscopes and accelerometers combined with video tracking.  The measured disturbances are used in the control loop embedded on an ARM processor that sends control signals to the lens actuators to maintain beam stabilization. The entire beam expander that contains the stabilization mechanism and control electronics are contained in a 50 mm long package as defined by the notional design for a 4x beam expander.