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Laser and Optronics

Members

Activities

Throughout the domain of sensors, the knowledge of the object signature (real or simulated) is primordial to understand the detection, reconnaissance and identification performances of those sensors. Although sensors in the radar domain (mostly active) and sensors in the optronics domain (mostly passive) rely on different working principles, the importance of the object signature within the chain of the sensor system is comparable.

In optronics, research is conducted in the area of target detection, with application to drone detection and target masking using camouflage nets.

Research is also conducted in the use of laser as non-lethal weapon, and amonst others, to blind camera's.

Research projects

Satellite Automatic Identification System Phase B1 - E-SAIL

The topic of the project is to conduct a feasibility study of a spaceborne AIS (Automatic Identification System) extended with non-cooperative ship detection capability. The contribution of RMA is to examine whether an EO imager can be used as a complementary system for non-cooperative vessel detection. RMA will simulate the detection performance of the processing algorithms to be applied on the EO images.

Expertise-activities OMRA

Expertise activities, mostly related to radar and IR signature measurements amongst others in the domain of camouflage materials.

EDA DMD

DMD (Drifting Mines Detection) studies the new mothership/USV minehunting paradigm and its capabilities for detecting drifting mine threats at sea using time-integrated radar and behavioural analysis of infrared video data. RMA contribution is the capture and analysis of radar and video data from the sensor systems of the M-class frigate taking up the role of mothership simulator in this, and also the development and evaluation of drifting mine detection algorithms.

MRN13

This project addresses the problem of ship force protection agains asymmetrical threats such as swimmers, drifting mines/IEDs and small craft, this in a port or coastal context. For this it studies the detection of behavioural anomalies in infrared and optical video streams of the ship’s environment.

F11/00

This study aims at modelling the behaviour of a THz wave in a strongly scattering dielectric, studying the THz wave scattering through dielectric materials inducing spectral distortions.

DOTNAC - Development and optimization of THz NDT tool on multi-layered composite aircraft structures.

Modern aircraft structures have to comply with severe requirements: they have to be light as well as safe. These requirements lead to an increased use of composite materials in the aircraft industry. However, new materials also require new techniques in order to inspect aircraft components during production in a non-destructive way.

The primary goal of the DOTNAC project is to develop a safe, contact-free, high resolution, and potentially on-site NDT tool based on terahertz (THz) waves, which will be easy to integrate in industrial facilities, and allowing the detection of surface, subsurface and in-depth defects in a variety of composite materials used in aeronautics. The developed NDT tool will fill in the performance gaps that are still present amongst the established NDT techniques and will therefore be an extremely useful tool in NDT in terms of sensor fusion.

FREMM - MPIR : Frégate Européenne Multi Missions - Réalisation d\'un Module de Prédiction Infrarouge

The aim of the FREMM project is to concieve, realise, validate for the PSAD (Performances Senseurs et Aides à la Décision) module, a software that covers the following functionalities. First, the project computation of the effects of the atmospheric and geographical environment on the infrared transmission. Second, the projected computation of the effects of the atmospheric and geogrphical environment on the target and background irradiance. Third, the computation of the output performance (detection, identification) of optronics sensors. Fouth, the computation of images of infrared scenes. The MPIR module is responsible for the synthesis of infrared images of the scene. RMA is reponsible for integrating the OSMOSIS Thermal Model developed at RMA in the MPIR module of the FREMM project. OSMOSIS is an open-source software developed in the context of the MRN 03 study and that compute the thermal model of ships

C4/13

This study aims at studying the THz domain with applications in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT). One of the main development is the adaptation of Synthetic Aperture algorithms to THz sources in order to increase the cross-range resolution.

MRN06

This project studies the useability of different sensors to detect small objects at the surface of the ocean. Applications are the detection of floating mines and wreck pieces in order to avoid collision, search and rescue of drowning pers. Optical, IR and radar sensors will be considered in order to be able to operate day and night and regardless of the weather conditions.