Patent ID: 8009991

Claim:
A free-space optical communication system with an optical signal originating from a transmitting source, comprising: a detector array, comprising a plurality of detector elements, each detector element operable to receive an optical signal and output a detector signal; a transmit array having a plurality of transmitting sources each transmitting an optical beam, wherein there are fewer transmitting sources than detector elements; a modulator coupled to at least one of the transmitting sources and configured to apply a modulation to the optical beam to encode a unique beam identifier; a tracker coupled to the detector array and operable to electronically track dynamic movement of the optical signal from a first detector element to a second detector element on the detector array, wherein the movement of the optical signal is caused by real-time changes in orientation of the transmitting source; and a decoder coupled to the tracker and operable to output an output signal derived from at least one of the detector signals corresponding to a detector element illuminated by the optical signal.