Short Wave Infrared Transmitting Optical Beacon

Project Goal: Design and develop a small, portable infrared beacon (STrOBe) that can be deployed by drone and used to mark targets in the field.

Short-wave infrared, or SWIR, beacons are used by the military to mark targets for destruction, for landing zones and for locating allied troops to prevent friendly fire. The team designed a device to mark a target in the field by emitting a laser at 1550nm, which would be detectable to those equipped with SWIR vision technology.

The STrOBe beacon is small, portable, remotely programmable, rugged and bright enough to be seen from a distance. The device is controlled remotely via Bluetooth connectivity to a custom-designed app that powers the beacon and changes the pulse repetition rate. The app can control up to three individual STrOBe devices.

The STrOBe pulses at 1550nm at a rate that can be adjusted from continuous wave to 100 Hz. The beacon’s Bluetooth-enabled module connects to the microcontroller that interfaces with the app to control the operational modes of the SWIR emitters. The custom-designed housing can withstand a 6-foot drop onto different types of terrain and land upright on a 45-degree slope. The curved architecture allows for an optical assembly that provides uniform intensity over a near-hemispherical field of view.