Capabilities
Guidestar Optical Systems is a premier supplier of advanced optical systems and technologies. The company has identified the main markets for our technologies: free space laser communication systems, high energy laser weapon systems, surveillance and reconnaissance at long standoff ranges, and atmospheric measurement and forecasting.
Adaptive Optics Systems
When a laser beam is propagated a long distance through the atmosphere, it becomes distorted. For free space laser communication systems, this limits the bandwidth and distance of the link. For high energy laser weapons, this reduces the effective kill range of the weapon.
An adaptive optics system precisely measures the atmospheric distortion and uses this measurement to correct the distortion. The adaptive optics systems developed by Guidestar Optical Systems correct for the errors that degrade performance, and have been proven to increase the range, bandwidth, and reliability of free space optical communication systems as well as the effectiveness of laser weapon systems.
Atmospheric Measuring & Forecast
We have been developing an atmospheric optical turbulence characterization and forecasting tool. The tool uses standard weather data and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) forecast data to predict vertical profiles of optical turbulence at any location and time on the Earth’s surface. This tool will enable users to forecast system effectiveness 24 to 48 hours in advance to support mission planning and maximize effectiveness during operations.
Image Processing
Guidestar has developed image processing algorithms that will improve image quality taken from moving platforms, with applications for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) applications. Guidestar has developed both passive and active imaging techniques that enable nearly diffraction-limited performance.
Custom Solutions
Guidestar also maintains a modeling and simulation capability for optical propagation through turbulence consisting of wave optics and engagement-level modeling tools. Guidestar maintains this modeling and simulation capability in-house, and continues to advance its development, to evaluate concepts at a variety of maturity levels, further develop and adapt those concepts for specific applications, and identify the concepts and system architectures that are worthy of additional investigation in laboratory testing and field demonstrations.