China is developing a new type of surveillance satellite that will use quantum ghost imaging technology to detect low observable aircraft and camouflaged military assets. The technology is expected to take a decade to operationalize.
Quantum ghost imaging sensor can detect not just the extremely low amount of light emitted by an observable aircraft, but also its interactions with other light sources in the surrounding environment to obtain accurate tracking information.
The ghost imaging satellite would have two cameras, one aiming at the targeted area of interest with a single-pixel sensor while the other camera measured variations in a wider field of light across the environment.
Traditional cameras achieve a sharp resolution by using a lens to focus the many pixels that spread across the surface of the sensor. A single-pixel imager makes use of the natural random patterned light to illuminate the scene and recording the result on just one pixel. This process is repeated many times and a high-resolution image is then constructed by computational imaging.
For the quantum ghost imager, the target could be illuminated by almost any light source such as the sun, moon or street lightings. The target can also be illuminated by laser beams generated by the satellite. By analyzing the signals captured by the cameras with quantum physics algorithms, it is possible to construct extremely high definition images that are not impossible using conventional methods.
China has already demonstrated ghost imaging on ground-based systems in 2011, beating the US Army Research Laboratory by three years. The race is now on to develop the first satellite-based system.
SCMP
Quantum ghost imaging sensor can detect not just the extremely low amount of light emitted by an observable aircraft, but also its interactions with other light sources in the surrounding environment to obtain accurate tracking information.
The ghost imaging satellite would have two cameras, one aiming at the targeted area of interest with a single-pixel sensor while the other camera measured variations in a wider field of light across the environment.
Traditional cameras achieve a sharp resolution by using a lens to focus the many pixels that spread across the surface of the sensor. A single-pixel imager makes use of the natural random patterned light to illuminate the scene and recording the result on just one pixel. This process is repeated many times and a high-resolution image is then constructed by computational imaging.
For the quantum ghost imager, the target could be illuminated by almost any light source such as the sun, moon or street lightings. The target can also be illuminated by laser beams generated by the satellite. By analyzing the signals captured by the cameras with quantum physics algorithms, it is possible to construct extremely high definition images that are not impossible using conventional methods.
China has already demonstrated ghost imaging on ground-based systems in 2011, beating the US Army Research Laboratory by three years. The race is now on to develop the first satellite-based system.
SCMP
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