OPTICAL AXIAL ALIGNMENT AID FOR FACILITATING REMOTE CONTROL OPERATIONS AND RELATED METHOD

An axial alignment aid for remote control operations and related method are provided. A mirror located on a first movable member gathers light from its field of view in front of the first member and reflects it at right angles to a beam splitter which reflects the light at right angles to a video camera on the first member. A laser, also on the first member, projects a thin beam of light through a beam expander and a beam-expander lens template which gives the projected beam a pattern. The beam then reflects off another mirror, passes through the beam-splitter and is reflected off the original mirror. The beam is then projected on-axis with the first member (coincidentally on-axis with the video camera's field of view), and is inverted to match the original pattern. A reflective visual indicator or target is mounted on a second member so that its optical axis is collinear with the axis of the second member. An off-axis rotation of the first member to the right of the operator's perspective will result in a back-projected laser spot to the right of center on the visual indicator's front surface. On the other hand, rotation of the first member to the left of the operator's perspective will cause the spot to appear to the left of center on the front surface. Finally, if the operator centers the back-projected spot on the front surface of the visual indicator by moving the first member via a feedback control circuit, the laser light will be reflected exactly on axis with the center of the visual indicator. Positive indication of precise alignment of the first and second members is thus achieved and the first member can be safely and accurately docked with the second member.