We have developed a number of technologies in fields outside of the ones listed on the individual pages. SOme of these technologies are described on this page, together with any articles, conference proceedings, or patents related to them. One example is tracking systems.

We developed a low-cost, light-weight, high-reliablility tracking system for missile guidance. We determined that there were many other potential applications for this tracker. One simple application is to keep a spacecraft (or, by extension, an unmanned aerial or space vehicle) pointed directly at a target. Since the tracker produces a signal that indicates the difference in angle between the line to the source and the centerline of the tracker itself, two such trackers can be used to determine the distance to the beacon (by parallax).

Interestingly, this can also be applied to self-driving vehicles (such as cars or trucks). The tracker can not only ensure that the following vehicle always heads towards the lead vehicle, it can determine the distance between the two and either keep that distance constant or ajdust it for conditions (speed, visibility, etc.) measured by another sensor.

We have two patents in this area. The first is based on the missile tracker; the second, which is a continuation of the first, includes the distance measurement and unmanned vehicle control.

1. Ai, J.; Dimov, F.; Kurtz, R., inventors; Luminit, LLC assignee. Compound Eye Laser Tracking Device. Patent US010281551B2. 2019 May 9.
         The Compound Eye Laser Tracking Device(CELTD) is a tracking system used to guide items to point at a laser-illuminated target, with the illumination being either pulsed or modulated at either a specific rate or within a range of rates. The CELTD, comprising a multiaperture compound receiver optics (MACRO) to collect the signal, a set of light guides to combine the received light into light representing individual angular sectors and redirect it to detectors whose output represents the illumination signal in that quadrant, a spectral filter, an angle filter, the set of detectors, and processing electronics. The output is an electronic signal indicating the angular difference between the pointing direction of the signal and the pointing direction of the tracking device.
2. Ai, J.; Dimov, F.; Kurtz, R.M.; Gorce, E.J., inventors; Luminit, LLC assignee. Compound Eye Laser Illumination Seeker. Patent US010890417B2. 2021 Jan 12.
         The Compound Eye Laser Illumination Seeker (CELIS) is a tracking system used to guide items to point at a laser-illuminated target, with the illumination being either pulsed or modulated at either a specific rate or within a range of rates. The CELIS, comprising a multiaperture compound receiver optics (MACRO) to collect the signal, a set of light guides to combine the received light into light representing individual angular sectors and redirect it to detectors whose output represents the illumination signal in that quadrant, a spectral filter, an angle filter, the set of detectors, and processing electronics. The output is an electronic signal indicating the angular difference between the pointing direction of the signal and the pointing direction of the tracking device.
3. Kurtz, R.M. “Optimizing the Amplifier Bandwidth for Pulse Reception.” TechRXiv Preprint. Palos Verdes Estates, California: Samurai Scientists LLC; 2023. 13 pp. doi: 10.36227/techrxiv.14955456.v1.
        Detecting and recognizing pulses is a critical task, in fields as widely separated as telecommunications, lidar, and target illumination. In all cases, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a key parameter that can be used to determine both the potential rate of errors and the probability of correct detection. In this paper the relationship among pulse width, amplifier bandwidth, and SNR is determined through modeling four approximations to pulse shapes and four amplifier lowpass filter configurations. The analysis determined that, given a specific filter and pulse shape, the bandwidth that maximizes SNR is a constant divided by the pulse width. For example, if the pulse has a Gaussian shape and the amplifier incorporates a second-order Chebyshev lowpass filter, this constant is 0.3389. Applying this, if the pulse width is 20 ns the maximum SNR comes for a filter bandwidth of 16.95 MHz, while if the pulse width is 50 μs the SNR is maximized at a 6.778-kHz bandwidth. Passing the signal through a filter also distorts the signal shape; the temporal shift and pulse lengthening are also determined. The calculated values are offered as inputs to a potential trade space that includes SNR, pulse distortion by the filter, and cost.

We have added many other areas of interest as well. We have experts in water development and provisioning, and related governance issues; polymer science; nanoelectronics; chemical engineering, especially of combustion and related products; and cobminations of these, such as water purification through distillation while generating electricity from the process. For more information, contact us.