Abstract:
An optical tracker is provided herein. The tracker may include at least two optical tracker sensors, facing at least partially each other. Each optical tracker sensor may include: a pixel array sensor configured to generate a pixel-by-pixel stream of values representing a scene; at least one visual indicator physically coupled to said pixel array sensor; and an integrated circuit (IC) physically coupled to said at least one pixel array sensor, and configured to: receive said pixel-by-pixel stream of values; and apply a binary large object (BLOB) analysis to said stream, to yield BLOB parameters indicative of the at least one visual indicator present in the scene in a single pass of the pixels representing the scene; and a computer processor configured to receive said BLOB parameters and calculate a relative position and/or orientation, or a partial data thereof, of the at least two optical tracker sensors.
Abstract:
Method for autonomous safe emergency landing of a powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the event of an engine failure. A landing approach trajectory is generated, including a downwind leg, initiating at an initiation point of the trajectory, an upwind leg, terminating at a selected touchdown point, and a U-turn leg, joining between the downwind leg and the upwind leg. The UAV is directed to the initiation point to follow the downwind leg. A glide ratio of the UAV is repeatedly determined based on current flight conditions. A current turning point is repeatedly determined along the downwind leg based on the determined glide ratio, the U-turn leg initiating at the current turning point. When the UAV arrives at the current turning point, the UAV is directed to follow the U-turn leg and the upwind leg, for landing the UAV at the selected touchdown point.
Abstract:
System for detecting objects protruding from the surface of a body of water in a marine environment under low illumination conditions, the system comprising a gated light source, generating light pulses toward the body of water illuminating substantially an entire field of view, a gated camera, sensitive at least to wavelengths of the light generated by the gated light source, the gated camera receiving light reflected from at least one object, within the field of view, protruding from the surface of the body of water and acquiring a gated image of the reflected light, and a processor coupled with the gated light source and with the gated camera, the processor gating the gated camera to be set ‘OFF’ for at least the duration of time it takes the gated light source to produce a light pulse in its substantial entirety in addition to the time it takes the end of the light pulse to complete traversing a determined distance from the system and back to the gated camera, the processor further setting, for each pulse, the gated camera to be ‘ON’ for an ‘ON’ time duration until the light pulse, reflecting back from the object, is received by the gated camera.
Abstract:
A system and a method of generating a three-dimensional terrain model using one-dimensional interferometry of a rotating radar unit is provided herein. Height information is evaluated from phase differences between two echoes by applying a Kalman filter in relation to a phase confidence map that is generated from phase forward projections relating to formerly analyzed phase data. The radar system starts from a flat earth model and gathers height information of the actual terrain as the platform approaches it. Height ambiguities are corrected by removing redundant 2 π multiples from the unwrapped phase difference between the echoes.