Distributed aperture imaging and tracking system

Claim 1

An imaging system comprising: a plurality of sensors capable of sensing objects within a field of view about a sight line, at least two sensors positioned to have different sight lines and the sight lines having known relative positions, each sensor producing signals corresponding to positions of objects within a field of view at a given time at least one sensor being subjected to at least one of motion, flexure and vibration; means for sensing and measuring at least one of motion, flexure and vibration of each at least one sensor; an internal navigational system which establishes a reference plane which reference plane remains in a selected position; adjustment means attached to at least one sensor and to the internal navigation system so that the adjustment means will adjust the sight lines of the sensors in response to movement of the sensors caused by at least one of motion, flexure and vibration and to maintain a desired spatial relationship between the reference plane and the sight lines of the sensors; at least one sensor signal memory connected to the sensors which receives and stores the signals produced by the sensors in a manner permitting concurrent access to and display of signals received from any selected combinations of at least two sensors; and a processing unit and associated memory containing at least one program for selecting sensor signals from the sensor signal memory in a manner to create a composite image from signals from at least two sensors and doing at lease one of outputting selected sensor signals, processing selected sensor signals to create at least one processed signal and outputting selected processed signals, the processing unit being connected to at least one sensor signal memory.