Atmospheric jitter correction and target tracking using single imaging sensor in high-energy laser systems

1. A system comprising:

a target illumination laser (TIL) configured to generate a TIL beam that illuminates a target;

a beacon illumination laser (BIL) configured to generate a modulated BIL beam that creates a pulsed spot on the target;

an imaging sensor configured to (i) capture first images of the target at a first rate, the first images containing reflected TIL energy from the TIL beam without reflected BIL energy from the modulated BIL beam when the pulsed spot is not illuminated on the target and (ii) capture second images of the target at a second rate different from the first rate, the second images containing reflected TIL energy from the TIL beam and reflected BIL energy from the modulated BIL beam when the pulsed spot is illuminated on the target; and

at least one controller configured to perform target tracking using the first images and boresight error compensation using the second images.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein, to perform the boresight error compensation, the at least one controller is configured to:

determine actual locations of the pulsed spot on the target using the second images;

identify motion of the pulsed spot on the target based on the actual locations;

predict a future motion of the pulsed spot on the target based on the identified motion of the pulsed spot; and

control one or more mirrors to substantially cancel the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein:

the system further comprises a high-energy laser (HEL) configured to generate an HEL beam that is directed towards the target; and

the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot is used as a predicted future motion of the HEL beam such that substantially cancelling the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot also substantially cancels the predicted future motion of the HEL beam on the target.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one controller is further configured to control an offset of the modulated BIL beam relative to the HEL beam on the target.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to control the offset of the modulated BIL beam relative to the HEL beam independent of the boresight error compensation.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein, to perform the target tracking, the at least one controller is configured to:

generate super-resolution images using the first images;

identify one or more features of the target using the super-resolution images;

automatically select an aimpoint on the target based on the one or more features; and

control one or more mirrors to follow the selected aimpoint on the target.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is further configured to modulate operation of the BIL so that the capture of the first images by the imaging sensor is multiplexed with the capture of the second images by the imaging sensor.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to modulate the operation of the BIL so that the imaging sensor captures the first images at the first rate and captures the second images at the second rate.

9. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to:

control a target illumination laser (TIL) to generate a TIL beam that illuminates a target;

control a beacon illumination laser (BIL) to generate a modulated BIL beam that creates a pulsed spot on the target;

control an imaging sensor to (i) capture first images of the target at a first rate, the first images containing reflected TIL energy from the TIL beam without reflected BIL energy from the modulated BIL beam when the pulsed spot is not illuminated on the target and (ii) capture second images of the target at a second rate different from the first rate, the second images containing reflected TIL energy from the TIL beam and reflected BIL energy from the modulated BIL beam when the pulsed spot is illuminated on the target; and

perform target tracking using the first images and boresight error compensation using the second images.

10. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions that cause the at least one processor to perform the boresight error compensation comprise:

instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to:

determine actual locations of the pulsed spot on the target using the second images;

identify motion of the pulsed spot on the target based on the actual locations;

predict a future motion of the pulsed spot on the target based on the identified motion of the pulsed spot; and

control one or more mirrors to substantially cancel the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot.

11. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 , further containing instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to control a high-energy laser (HEL) that generates an HEL beam directed towards the target;

wherein the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot is used as a predicted future motion of the HEL beam such that substantially cancelling the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot also substantially cancels the predicted future motion of the HEL beam on the target.

12. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further containing instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to control an offset of the modulated BIL beam relative to the HEL beam on the target.

13. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the offset of the modulated BIL beam relative to the HEL beam is controllable independent of the boresight error compensation.

14. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions that cause the at least one processor to perform the target tracking comprise:

instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to:

generate super-resolution images using the first images;

identify one or more features of the target using the super-resolution images;

automatically select an aimpoint on the target based on the one or more features; and

control one or more mirrors to follow the selected aimpoint on the target.

15. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 , further containing instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to modulate operation of the BIL so that the capture of the first images by the imaging sensor is multiplexed with the capture of the second images by the imaging sensor.

16. A method comprising:

illuminating a target using a target illumination laser (TIL) beam;

creating a pulsed spot on the target using a modulated beacon illumination laser (BIL) beam;

using an imaging sensor, (i) capturing first images of the target at a first rate, the first images containing reflected TIL energy from the TIL beam without reflected BIL energy from the modulated BIL beam when the pulsed spot is not illuminated on the target and (ii) capturing second images of the target at a second rate different from the first rate, the second images containing reflected TIL energy from the TIL beam and reflected BIL energy from the modulated BIL beam when the pulsed spot is illuminated on the target; and

performing target tracking using the first images and boresight error compensation using the second images.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein performing the boresight error compensation comprises:

determining actual locations of the pulsed spot on the target using the second images;

identifying motion of the pulsed spot on the target based on the actual locations;

predicting a future motion of the pulsed spot on the target based on the identified motion of the pulsed spot; and

controlling one or more mirrors to substantially cancel the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein:

the method further comprises directing a high-energy laser (HEL) beam towards the target; and

the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot is used as a predicted future motion of the HEL beam such that substantially cancelling the predicted future motion of the pulsed spot also substantially cancels the predicted future motion of the HEL beam on the target.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein performing the target tracking comprises:

generating super-resolution images using the first images;

identifying one or more features of the target using the super-resolution images;

automatically selecting an aimpoint on the target based on the one or more features; and

controlling one or more mirrors to follow the selected aimpoint on the target.

20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

modulating operation of the BIL so that the capture of the first images by the imaging sensor is multiplexed with the capture of the second images by the imaging sensor.