Ground-based optical detection of low-dynamic vehicles in near-space

Abstract

Ground-based optical detection of low-dynamic vehicles in near-space is analyzed to detect, identify, and track high-altitude balloons and airships. The spectral irradiance of a representative vehicle on the entrance pupil plane of ground-based optoelectronic equipment was obtained by analyzing the influence of its geometry, surface material characteristics, infrared self-radiation, and the reflected background radiation. Spectral radiation characteristics of the target in both clear weather and complex meteorological weather were simulated. The simulation results show the potential feasibility of using visible–near-infrared (VNIR) equipment to detect objects in clear weather and long-wave infrared (LWIR) equipment to detect objects in complex meteorological weather. A ground-based VNIR and LWIR optoelectronic experimental setup is built to detect low-dynamic vehicles in different weather. A series of experiments in different weather are carried out. The experiment results validate the correctness of the simulation results.