Design, Development, And Testing Of Two Prototype Maritime Laser Aids To Navigation

Paul F. Jacobs; Timothy S. Winslow; James D. Campbell; Louis Reynolds

doi:10.1117/12.976167

20 November 1985 Design, Development, And Testing Of Two Prototype Maritime Laser Aids To Navigation

Paul F. Jacobs, Timothy S. Winslow, James D. Campbell, Louis Reynolds

Proceedings Volume 0540, Southwest Conf on Optics '85; (1985) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.976167
Event: 1985 Albuquerque Conferences on Optics, 1985, Albuquerque, United States

Abstract

Under contract to the U.S. Coast Guard, Loral EOS (formerly Xerox EOS) designed and developed two prototype aids to navigation utilizing lasers as light sources. One prototype utilizes a Helium-Neon laser, beam expander, and rotating double-faceted reflector to provide a red flashing signal over a 3600 azimuthal field. The second unit utilizes a Helium-Neon and a Helium-Cadmium laser to provide dual-color signal information to guide mariners down a fairway or channel with great lateral precision. Two raw laser beams are expanded and passed through beamsplitters to produce four separate beams. Two beams are stationary and illuminate the starboard and port sides of the channel. The other two beams are directed onto counterrotating reflectors, producing time-coded, dual-color flashes that provide off-axis information to the mariner. Loral and Coast Guard personnel conducted extensive field tests of the units, identifying and overcoming mechanical and thermal problems. Tests involving several observers at long ranges indicated that "speckle" effects significantly enhanced signal conspicuity.

Citation Download Citation

Paul F. Jacobs, Timothy S. Winslow, James D. Campbell, and Louis Reynolds "Design, Development, And Testing Of Two Prototype Maritime Laser Aids To Navigation", Proc. SPIE 0540, Southwest Conf on Optics '85, (20 November 1985); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.976167

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available