Dynamically reconfigurable sensor arrays

• US 8,761,603 B1
• Filed: 02/25/2010
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oewaves Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Oewaves Incorporated
• Inventors: Maleki, Lute
• Primary Examiner(s): Leung, Danny
• Application Number:
  US12/713,108
• Time in Patent Office: 1,580 Days
• Field of Search: 398/122, 398/127, 398/129
• US Class Current: 398/129
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/3581 using far infrared light; using Terahertz radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/39 using tunable lasers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/9064 Inverse SAR [ISAR]
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2210/006 Devices for generating or processing an RF signal by optical means

Abstract

Examples and implementations of reconfigurable sensors in a sensor array for performing various reconfigurable sensing functions.

Claims

1. A sensor array, comprising:

a plurality of reconfigurable sensors spatially distributed at different locations, each sensor including a movable sensor platform that adjusts or moves the sensor relative to one or more other sensors to change a spatial distribution of the sensors in the sensor array, each sensor including a sensing device that receives and detects an input signal at a respective sensor location so that different sensors at different locations receive and detect different input signals received at different locations to produce a sensor array signal based on the different received input signals at different sensors, each sensor being adjustable or reconfigurable to change one or more aspects of the sensor operation, each sensor comprising a transceiver in wireless communication with other sensors in the sensor array,

wherein the sensors are operable to collaborate with one another via wireless inter-sensor communications to reconfigure one or more aspects of the sensor array including relative positioning of two or more sensors in the sensor array.

2. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

each sensor is a tunable optical sensor.

3. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

each sensor is a tunable radio frequency (RF) sensor.

4. The sensor array as in claim 3, wherein:

the tunable RF sensor includes an internal photonic module that uses photonic or optical components to process light that is modulated to carry an RF signal to effectuate tuning of a frequency of a received RF signal at the tunable RF sensor.

5. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

each sensor is a tunable microwave sensor.

6. The sensor array as in claim 5, wherein:

the tunable microwave sensor includes an internal photonic module that uses photonic or optical components to process light that is modulated to carry a microwave signal to effectuate tuning of a frequency of a received microwave signal at the tunable microwave sensor.

7. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

each sensor is a tunable millimeter wave sensor.

8. The sensor array as in claim 7, wherein:

the tunable millimeter wave sensor includes an internal photonic module that uses photonic or optical components to process light that is modulated to carry a millimeter wave signal to effectuate tuning of a frequency of a received millimeter wave signal at the tunable millimeter wave sensor.

9. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

a movable sensor platform of a sensor includes a ground vehicle, a water vessel that either floats on water or submerges in water, an airborne vehicle or a space vehicle, and is movable relative to other sensors in position to change a spatial distribution of the sensors in the array.

10. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

the movable sensor platform is configured to adjust or move a position, orientation or motion of the sensor.

11. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

the one or more aspects of the sensor operation of a sensor includes a frequency of a signal that is received by the sensor.

12. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

each sensor includes a tunable receiver that adjusts a frequency of a received signal, and a wireless communication transceiver that provides the inter-sensor communications with other sensors.

13. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

the sensors are operable to wirelessly communicate with a ground station that provides a control over an operation of the sensor array.

14. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

each sensor includes an imaging sensor that captures an image of a target and different sensors capture different images of the target from different positions in the sensor array, and

each sensor further includes a wireless communication transceiver that provides the inter-sensor communications with other sensors to enable collaboration of the sensors to reconfigure one or more aspects of the sensor array in capturing images of the target including adjusting a position of one or more sensors relative to the target.

15. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

each sensor includes a tunable radio frequency (RF) sensor that includes an internal photonic module that uses photonic or optical components to process light that is modulated to carry an RF signal to tune a frequency of a received RF signal.

16. The sensor array as in claim 15, wherein:

each sensor includes one or more additional sensors other than the tunable RF sensor that receives RF signals from the target object.

17. The sensor array as in claim 15, wherein:

the tunable RF sensor includes;

an input port to receive an input RF signal received from the target object,

a laser to produce a continuous-wave laser beam,

a first optical path to receive a first portion of the laser beam, and

a second optical path operable to receive a second portion of the laser beam and including an optical modulator to modulate the second portion in response to the input RF signal to produce a modulated optical beam that carries the RF input signal, a tunable optical filter to filter the modulated optical beam to select at least one spectral component in the input signal while rejecting other spectral components and to output a filtered modulated optical beam that carries the at least one selected spectral component, and a tuning control unit to tune the tunable optical filter to change a frequency of the at least one selected spectral component, and

an optical detector to combine the first portion from the first optical path and the filtered modulated optical beam from the second optical path to produce a filtered output signal comprising the at least one selected spectral component.

18. The sensor array as in claim 15, wherein:

the tunable RF sensor includes;

a first laser to produce a first continuous-wave (CW) laser beam at a first laser frequency,

an optical modulator to receive the first CW laser beam and an input RF signal from the target object and operable to modulate the first CW laser beam in response to the input RF signal to produce a modulated optical beam that carries the input RF signal,

a tunable optical filter to filter the modulated optical beam from the optical modulator to select at least one spectral component in the modulated optical signal while rejecting other spectral components and to output a filtered modulated optical beam that carries the at least one selected spectral component,

a filter control unit to tune a center frequency of the tunable optical filter to tune the at least one selected spectral component,

a second laser to produce a second CW laser beam at a second laser frequency,

an optical detector to receive both the filtered modulated optical beam from the tunable optical filter and the second CW laser beam to produce a received RF signal at a received RF frequency as output of the tunable RF receiver, and

a control unit to lock the first and second lasers in phase relative to each other and to control the first and the second lasers to tune a difference between the first and the second laser frequencies in response to the tuning of the center frequency of the tunable optical filter to maintain the output frequency of the receiver output signal at a desired fixed frequency.

19. The sensor array as in claim 1, wherein:

each sensor includes a tunable RF receiver which is tunable in frequency so that the sensor array is a tunable RF receiver array,

each sensor further includes a wireless communication transceiver that provides the inter-sensor communications with other sensors to enable collaboration of the sensors to reconfigure one or more aspects of the sensor array, and

the sensor array operates to adjust one or more tunable RF receivers in frequency or to control the movable sensor platforms of the sensors in adjusting a position of one or more sensors to dynamically reconfigure the sensor array.

20. The sensor array as in claim 19, wherein:

each tunable RF receiver includes an internal photonic module that includes photonic or optical components to process and modulate light to carry an RF signal to effectuate tuning of a frequency of a received RF signal.