Design of an infrared projector FPGA-based computer architecture

Abstract

The military uses large Infrared (IR) projector arrays to test its detector arrays. The IR projector generates scenes of moving objects and standing landscapes for hardware in the loop (HWIL) sensor testing to simulate real world scenarios. The IR projector is a two-dimensional array of superlattice light-emitting diodes (SLEDs) with a custom driver IC and FPGA-based control system. The purpose of this thesis is to document the custom Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) computer architecture that drives the SLEDs. This framework is able to convert standard PC simulations to the custom SLEDs protocol using precise timing to control addresses, luminosity, and framing of the SLEDs. The work described in this paper examines the computer architecture in detail and the related testing completed on the current 512 x 512 SLEDs system.