DECEMBER 1--QinetiQ has secured a two-year $5 M research contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in support of its Large Area Coverage Optical Search While Track and Engage (LACOSTE) program. This will investigate using first-of-their-kind sensors, like lensless imaging, to provide persistent tactical surveillance and precision tracking capabilities.
The concept is to develop a suite of sensors that can be operated at high altitude (~20 km), possibly on an airship or endurance UAV, and that detect and simultaneously track large numbers of moving vehicles in dense urban areas with a high degree of accuracy, 24 hours a day. To achieve this, the sensors must have high resolution and sensitivity and have a wide field of regard and a variable, almost instantaneous, reconfigurable field of view.
QinetiQ's novel lensless imaging solution is the basis of this approach and is itself a disruptive camera technology with a wide range of defense, security, industrial, and commercial applications. QinetiQ is being assisted in delivering the LACOSTE program by subcontractor Goodrich Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems.
The first phase of the program is intended to provide a complete description of the initial objective system to meet the LACOSTE goals. This includes mechanical design (mass, volume, power, cooling, digital signal processing (decoding, gain, diffraction), and operational concept (resource management and tracking). It will also describe the critical technologies assumed and map out a clear technology development path, with scaled concept demonstrations supporting a decision for the next phase.
