SIOS (Space Integrated Optical Sensors)

太空飞行器需要感官。他们需要能够看到彼此，他们所在的星球，他们的母舰，小行星和碎片，他们在那里研究（例如地球）。未来的航天器还需要智能和自主，能够在没有来自地球的直接指令的情况下执行复杂的任务，地球可能距离很远（指令有很长的滞后时间）。未来的卫星还可能更小、更轻，并以小组方式运行以完成任务。像DARWIN和LISA这样的任务将使用小群卫星探测宇宙，探测遥远太阳系中的行星和生命，寻找引力波和大爆炸的残留物，以及未来访问火星和其他行星（并返回）的任务，他们将需要比以往任何时候都更好的感官。问题是，目前提供感官的仪器太大、太重、太慢、太耗电。答案在于制造一种新型智能光学传感器，这种传感器将纳米电子学和光学传感器混合在同一个硅芯片上。这些IOS传感器可以用来制造比以往任何时候都更智能、更快的光学传感器，并使航天器能够看到三维空间，看到物体的运动，看到化学物质的特征。这些新的传感器可以做到这一切，同时比现有系统更小、更轻、更低功耗。它们也更简单、更健壮。该项目将为未来的太空任务开发这些传感器，同时开发在地球上使用的传感器，它们的应用包括：水下视觉，成像手术过程中的组织和血流，成像活细胞内部的工作，3D视觉，以及更多的科学和工业应用。

Space vehicles need senses. They need to be able to see each other, the planet they are above, their mother ship, asteroids and debris and they are there to study (eg the earth).Future spacecraft will also need to be smart and autonomous - able to carry out their complex missions without direct instruction from the earth which may be a long distance away (with a long time lag for instructions). Future satellites may also be smaller, lighter and operate in groups to accomplish their tasks.Missions like DARWIN and LISA will use small groups of satellites to probe the universe, detect planets and life in distance solar systems, search for gravity waves and the remnants from the big bang and future missions to visit Mars and other planets (and return) They will need better senses than ever before.The problem is that at present the instruments that provide the senses are too big, too heavy, too slow and too power hungry. The answer lies in making new smart optical sensors which mix nanoelectronics and optical sensors on the same silicon chip. These IOS sensors can be used to build smarter, faster optical sensors than ever before and will allow the spacecraft to see in 3 dimensions, to see the movement of things and to see the signatures of chemicals. These new sensors can do all this while being much smaller, lighter and lower power than the existing systems. They are also simpler and more robust.This project will develop these sensors for future space missions and at the same time develop sensors for use here on earth where they have applications including: underwater vision, imaging tissue and blood flow during surgery, imaging the workings inside living cells, 3D vision, and many more scientific and industrial applications.