Fiber optic directional sensor and method

摘要

A fiber optic directional sensor has a substantially hemispherical dome surface and a substantially flat surface. The sensor is formed from a plurality of optical fibers fused to one another, and each optical fiber extends from the dome surface to the flat surface. One end of each optical fiber is substantially perpendicular to the sensor's dome surface, and the opposite end of the fiber is substantially perpendicular to the sensor's flat surface such that an end face of the fiber is substantially tangent to the dome surface, and another end face of the fiber is substantially tangent to the flat surface. Using the sensor, light from projectiles, such as missiles, bullets, and other weaponry, can be detected, and the locations of the projectiles can be determined.

主权项

1. A method, comprising:
providing a fiber optic directional sensor having a curved surface and a flat surface, the sensor formed from optical fibers that have been fused together via heating, wherein the optical fibers extend from the curved surface to the flat surface; receiving light from an object via a plurality of the optical fibers; directing the light through the plurality of the optical fibers to a light sensing apparatus, the light sensing apparatus having a plurality of pixels; sensing at one of the pixels a portion of the light passing through multiple ones of the optical fibers; and automatically determining a direction of the object with respect to the sensor based on the sensing.