Enhancing sensor resilience to laser damage across wavelengths through off-focus imaging

The deployment of lasers on the battlefield is increasing due to recent advancements in ready-to-use laser dazzlers and laser-directed energy weapons. Optical camera systems are particularly vulnerable to damage from laser radiation, as the incoming light is typically focused onto the sensor. While various methods of protection against specific wavelengths exist, only a limited number offer effective protection across a wide range of wavelengths. Recently, a concept for a system was presented, in which the sensor is strategically positioned behind the focal plane and deconvolution algorithms are used to reconstruct a sharp image. This configuration has been demonstrated to achieve a substantial enhancement in resistance to laser damage while maintaining a satisfactory level of image quality. This paper presents an enhanced version of the system, which makes use of a sophisticated image recovery algorithm, leading to substantial enhancements in both the quality of reconstruction and the processing speed. This has been effectively implemented as an embedded system, allowing for seamless integration and functionality. The capabilities of image acquisition and reconstruction are now optimized to be performed close to real-time, ensuring timely data processing. Furthermore, the system incorporates a secondary camera component designed to record system-specific ground truth training data, enabling ongoing improvements and refinements to the machine learning model.