Hybrid Lidar-radar Receiver for Underwater Imaging Applications Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Topic No.: N08-032 Topic Title: Hybrid Lidar-radar Receiver for Underwater Imaging Applications Proposal No.: N081-032-0812 Firm: Advanced Technologies Group, Inc. 309 E. Osceola St. Suite 206 Stuart, Florida 34994 Contact: John Justak Phone: (772) 283-0253 Web Site: www.atgi.us Abstract: Our proposed receiver design will satisfy or exceed the requirements set forth in this solicitation. The key innovation is our melding of approaches - to produce a compact lightweight receiver with onboard processing that leverages picosecond timing resolution and burst acquisition methodology previously implemented by our team. The receiver architecture will utilize electronic gating, automatic gain control, timing and energy normalization and noise reduction onboard processing techniques in addition to digital demodulation to provide an optimal and versatile receiver design. No other off-the-shelf (OTS) solution currently exists to satisfy the Navy's requirements. Benefits: We have conducted a thorough review of the literature and have not found a LIDAR receiver that satisfies the requirements stated in the solicitation, primarily due to the challenges presented by a very fast response time and high dynamic range. Our approach offers an elegant solution to this problem by melding key approaches to achieve an optimal design. This stems from our vast experience with imaging systems and receiver designs similar to what was asked for in this solicitation. Commercial applications that would benefit from a hybrid Lidar-radar receiver include biomedical optical imaging and imaging through clouds, smoke and flame. First responders would also benefit from this technology as it would give them the ability to "see" through smoke and flames. The hybrid Lidar-radar relates to optical imaging of tissues and, more particularly, to a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system for medical diagnostics particularly suited for detecting the presence of inhomogeneities in tissues, such as tumors. Return