Results of the second tank trial of the LLNL/NAVSEA underwater laser-imaging system

Thomas J. Kulp; Darrel G. Garvis; Randall B. Kennedy; Tom Salmon

doi:10.1117/12.21487

1 September 1990 Results of the second tank trial of the LLNL/NAVSEA underwater laser-imaging system

Thomas J. Kulp, Darrel G. Garvis, Randall B. Kennedy, Tom Salmon

Proceedings Volume 1302, Ocean Optics X; (1990) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.21487
Event: 1990 Technical Symposium on Optics, Electro-Optics, and Sensors, 1990, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

This report provides a summary of the second in-water test of the LLNL/NAVSEA Underwater Laser Imaging System (UWLIS). The UWLIS is a laser-based, synchronous-scanning, underwater imaging device that is designed to operate at greater ranges than is possible with conventional underwater TV cameras. It differs from earlier prototype synchronousscanning systems in that it is capable of high scan rates that allow the generation of real-time, RS-170 video images. The UWLIS is being developed for eventual use on Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) during deep-ocean Naval salvage missions. The floodlight-illuminated television cameras presently used on NAVSEA vessels can produce images at ranges up to about 2 attenuation lengths (AL) (2). Beyond that point, common volume backscatter from particulates in the intervening seawater between the imager and the target overwhelms the return signal, and the image is lost. The special optical geometry of the synchronous-scanning imager is designed to minimize common-volume effects. Previous theoretical studies (1) indicate that a system of this type should be capable of operation at distances as great as 6 to 7 attenuation lengths. An improvement of this magnitude would greatly increase the efficiency of salvage operations, thus decreasing their cost.

Citation Download Citation

Thomas J. Kulp, Darrel G. Garvis, Randall B. Kennedy, and Tom Salmon "Results of the second tank trial of the LLNL/NAVSEA underwater laser-imaging system", Proc. SPIE 1302, Ocean Optics X, (1 September 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.21487

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