Systems Development Department

Capabilities

Overview | Capabilities | Products | Current Projects | Past Projects

The Systems Development Department (SDD) at Southern Research has a diverse range of capabilities. Our areas of expertise include seekers, gimbals, scanning mirror assemblies, image processing / analysis and airborne instrumentation systems.

Seekers

The Systems Development Department has been designing missile seekers since the 1980s. These seekers have had a variety of imaging systems on board, including visible and infrared camera systems. The sensors have incorporated off-the-shelf cameras and optics as well as fully custom-designed sensor suites for specific applications. The stabilized two-axis (typically) gimbals were custom-designed for each system's requirements. Some seekers have required the mounting high pressure gas bottles for cooling InSb or PtSi sensor arrays. Typical seeker systems developed and built by Southern Research include those for the Army's Fiber Optic Guided Missile and the follow-on Enhanced Fiber Optic Guided Missile as well as the Future Missile Technology Insertion seeker assembly.

Gimbals

Stabilized platforms (gimbals) have been one of the Systems Development Department's core businesses for over 40 years. Ranging in size from 6.0 inches outside diameter to over 30 inches, these electro-mechanical systems have been made from aluminum, beryllium, composite materials and other materials as needed. Two, three and four axis designs are common. View the complete lists of our current and past projects or view products to see our current offerings.

Scanning Mirror Assemblies

Sometimes it is easier and faster to leave the sensor package fixed and move a mirror that directs energy into the sensor package. We have been providing government organizations with this type of design since the late 1970s. We also have the ability to design the reflective surface, providing a one-stop-shop for these systems. Our experience with mirror design includes polished aluminum, beryllium, Zerodur^® and others. Review an example of a Stabilized Mirror Gimbal ( 211 KB, PDF Format).

Image Processing / Analysis

Whether your application is acquiring a military target moving at mach 3 or medical, and you need to find a breast cancer cell in a slide under a microscope, the Systems Development Department can meet your needs. In the early 1960s, SDD's wok in image processing led to the issuance of a patent for the first adaptive gate tracking system for use in missile guidance systems. Since then, we have defined tracking technology and the process of improving and refining our centroid, correlation and multiple target and multi-correlation algorithms. For other applications, if a human can see and identify an item of interest (for example, a cancer cell), SDD can provide a system to accomplish the same task.

Airborne Instrumentation Systems

SDD has experience in designing and packaging electro-mechanical systems to operate in the extreme environmental conditions associated with military aircraft. Our legacy includes systems suspended below a C-130, pods mounted on UH-1 or UH-60 helicopters, and wing-mounted pods on F-4 and F-15s flying at supersonic speeds. We recently completed two sensor suites designed to operate at 60,000 feet on NASA's WB-57. These instrumentation platforms were designed to be rugged and provide a long service life.

Overview | Capabilities | Products | Current Projects | Past Projects