Electrooptical sensor technology with actively controllable optics, for imaging

A method for operating an electrooptical observation system that produces simultaneous plural images for a region of interest, at least some of said plural images having respective plural resolutions;

• for use when the system also has an inertial-navigation system and a steering mirror and when the steering mirror intercepts and deflects radiation that forms the relatively narrower field of view, said method comprising the steps, by a remote operator, of:
• operating the system to display simultaneous images having respective plural resolutions;
• controlling the system to cause:
• at least a first of the simultaneous plural images and a second of the simultaneous plural images to be formed simultaneously from radiation passing through a single optical aperture, radiation that is physically separated into the first and second of the simultaneous plural images formed on a plurality of physically separated imaging planes, including a lower resolution imaging plane and a higher resolution imaging plane;
• the at least first of the simultaneous plural images to have a relatively wider field of view, and to continuingly cover a region of interest, and
• the at least second of the simultaneous plural images to have a narrower field of view, with finer resolution than the relatively-wider-field image, continuingly directed toward a particular detail or details within or associated with the region of interest;
• using the system to:
• identify and follow, in the second of the simultaneous plural images with the wider-field of view, the region of interest to maintain an overall situational awareness, and concurrently observe as a real-time telephoto view, in the first of the simultaneous plural images with the narrower-field of view, relatively higher-resolution data and visible scenes for relatively finer investigation and analysis of one or more specialized details;
• operating the steering mirror to point the relatively narrower field toward a particular region of interest within the relatively wider field;
• operating the system to employ the inertial-navigation system for measuring spatial coordinates of the relatively narrower view, or of at least one object therein, or both;
• and
• operating the system to incorporate information from the inertial-navigation system to substantially stabilize the steering mirror with respect to inertial space.