Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) offers unprecedented advantages for next-generation mobile networks, including gigabit-to-terabit data rates, license-free spectrum operation, high immunity to electromagnetic interference, etc. However, deploying FSOC links between mobile systems (satellites, UAVs presents a severe challenge of pointing, acquisition and tracking (PAT) of highly narrow laser beams. PAT typically happens in two stages: coarse alignment and fine alignment. Coarse alignment
Unlike conventional radio-frequency systems, FSOC relies on a highly directional optical beam.
Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) offers unprecedented advantages for next-generation mobile networks, including gigabit-to-terabit data rates, license-free spectrum operation, high immunity... However, deploying FSOC links between mobile systems (satellites, UAVs presents a severe challenge of pointing, acquisition and tracking (PAT) of highly narrow laser beams PAT typically happens in two stages: coarse alignment and fine alignment
Unlike conventional radio-frequency systems, FSOC relies on a highly directional optical beam. Even a small angular error can prevent successful communication. Before fine pointing mechanism can take over, a coarse alignment stage must: • Observe the surrounding environment, • Acquire and detect the remote terminal or beacon, • Estimate the position, and • Continuously adjust the pointing direction to maintain visibility. The participants shall develop this coarse alignment process in software, allowing to develop and validate tracking algorithms without specialized hardware and setup. The following section provides reference parameters and performance criteria to be considered for the software development. Parameters and Specifications Functional Objective: Develop a software system that