Abstract

Optical correlators have been proposed for many practical applications but have yet to make the transition from the laboratory to the real world. Two basic problems have inhibited the development of these correlators—sensitivity to target orientation and the state-of-the-art in spatial light modulator technology. The U.S. Army Missile Command has been involved in field testing optical correlators for several years. These tests reached a milestone in 1990 with the successful flight of an optical correlator guided missile against a cooperative target. The test program has not stopped with that success, however. A correlator capable of handling changes in target scale and orientation has been designed and is currently under construction. This correlator is based on LCTV spatial light modulators and a smart filtering system. The design of this correlator, its operating characteristics, and data taken by using this correlator will be discussed as part of this presentation.

© 1992 Optical Society of America