Distance-weighted least-squares calibration for pointing errors in electro-optical tracking systems

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Robotics
• Control Systems

Background:

• Mobile electro-optical tracking systems require high pointing accuracy.
• Installation errors in these systems degrade performance.
• Existing calibration methods may be insufficient for complex error sources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an improved method for calibrating installation errors in mobile electro-optical tracking systems.
• To enhance the pointing accuracy of these systems.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a distance-weighted least-squares (DWLS) method.
• Derived five equivalent independent parameters to represent nine systematic errors.
• Implemented a sigmoid-based weighting strategy for distance-dependent noise.

Main Results:

• Simulations showed over 60% accuracy improvement, reducing CEP95 from 0.1002° to 0.0375°.
• Field validation demonstrated robustness with limited samples.
• Achieved 48.4% and 55.3% CEP95 reductions compared to conventional methods.

Conclusions:

• The DWLS method effectively calibrates installation errors.
• The proposed method enhances pointing accuracy for mobile electro-optical tracking systems.
• Validated robustness and significant performance gains in real-world scenarios.