A Method for the Analysis of Optical Tracking Systems

B. W. Jordan, Jr.

doi:10.1117/12.7971597

1 June 1972 A Method for the Analysis of Optical Tracking Systems

B. W. Jordan, Jr.

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 11, Issue 3, 110370 (June 1972). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.7971597

Abstract

The use of optical systems for tracking objects, map making, space exploration, etc., is becoming more and more prevalent. Since most of these systems are automatically controlled, a concise mathematical description of the pointing and tracking aspects of such systems is required, not only for derivation of control laws, but also for synthesis of the system and study of pointing and tracking errors which give rise to image motion and consequently, reduced resolution. This paper uses the techniques of kinematics to provide a unified technique for the analysis of pointing and tracking problems of optical tracking systems. The general relationship between the position of an object and its image is first formulated. Next, the relation between the motion of the image and the motion of the object as a function of the motion of the various parts of the optical system is derived. These relationships are then used for obtaining control laws to null image motion on the optical axis. Finally, the equations giving the motion of the image at any point on the detector surface are also derived.

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B. W. Jordan, Jr. "A Method for the Analysis of Optical Tracking Systems," Optical Engineering 11(3), 110370 (1 June 1972). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.7971597

Published: 1 June 1972

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