Just as soldiers need training and preparation before they enter the battlefield, the United States Military needs to thoroughly train and prepare its tools before deployment. The U.S. Department of Defense is leveraging deep-learning neural networks (DNNs) to wage war on the electro-magnetic spectrum. This spectrum includes radar, cybersecurity, and radio communications. These DNNs require a massive amount of data and training sets to ensure their processes are accurate, effective, and prepared for any perturbations. Engineers utilize this same training methodologies for guided missiles and autonomous operations to guarantee that their navigation procedures are working correctly before launch. These simulators and projectors need to advance with the technology of these autonomous or unmanned tools; otherwise, their operations may be susceptible to enemy interference and failure.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) needed a thermal emitter simulation to test its advanced missile-based sensor-systems in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing. HIL testing is used to development complex embedded systems and provides an effective platform for enhancing the sophistication and effectiveness of those systems. To address this need, Intellisense devised and tested a thermally efficient infrared emitter that combined high-resolution spatial light modulators with optically induced radiation from vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays. This simulator projected dynamic, high-temperature scenes so that the MDA could test their missiles in simulations to ensure they precisely hit their targets. This solution offered flickerless high-frame-rate projections for high fidelity infrared simulation in ground test environments, foregoing the need for more costly and difficult missile range tests.
This simulator had to meet several high-level requirements for the MDA. For one, the system had to create scenes that were uniform and have little to no crosstalk. It also had to be capable of generating mid-wave and long-wave infrared scene temperatures of 2000 K (3140°F). To that point, no simulation could project temperatures greater than 700 K (800°F). To meet those requirements, Intellisense’s design was evaluated using optical ray tracing simulation evaluate crosstalk or any thermal diffusion. A simulation model was constructed, and the results showed there was no crosstalk between the two simulations. The design and simulation results indicated that the simulator met the MDA’s needs for HIL testing.
Thanks to Intellisense’s novel system design, this thermal emitter is modular and scalable to advance with the MDA’s progressing needs. The simulator will enable the use of large-format, high-resolution presentation with 4K resolution at high frame rates (400 Hz). It will also feature a dynamic wide temperature range capable of reaching 2000 K for high-fidelity infrared projection in ground test environments. Finally, the system can offer flickerless emission and will be thermally efficient and compatible with cryo-vacuum operation at approximately 100 K.
The prototype developed for this effort was tested to ensure performance and meet the current and future needs of the MDA. During development, Intellisense explored the commercial potential for this solution as well, finding that many automated processes could use additional training and datasets from this thermal emitter. In addition to the MDA’s use, this advanced technology can be used for HIL testing by many DoD and other governmental agencies. Ultimately, these projectors and simulators will save money, advance with changing technologies, and ensure the U.S. military’s superior for decades to come.