ABSTRACT
For the purpose of directing the Line Of Sight (LOS) of Electro-Optical (EO) devices,
two methods of Inertially Stabilized Platforms (ISP) are commonly used; the Mass
Stabilization and the Mirror Stabilization. Whereas, in this research we present for
the first time the new concept for the LOS stabilization, that we called “Ball
Stabilization", which permits the angular rotations of the EO devices in the Azimuth
and Elevation directions inside a spherical enclosure by using piezoelectric edge
actuators and without the need of gimbals for each direction. The working principle,
system analysis, conditions for optimal stabilization process, kinematics and dynamic
modeling, and the experimental system are all discussed within this work. The
elimination of gimbals has reduced the size and inertia forces of the system that
facilitate the achievement of high resolution of 10-5º within a compact size of 130 mm
in diameter and a filed of view of ±30º in both directions, angular rates of 210º /s and
angular acceleration of 24x103º /s2.