Optical cameras are becoming increasingly common and are used in a variety of applications. With recent progress and transition toward more autonomous systems, the usage of optical systems will be common and widespread. Applications of the optical systems range from autonomous vehicles, home security systems, aviation, extraterrestrial vehicles, spacecraft, and satellites. Imaging systems are used in decision-making in many of these applications. Fouling of the field of view of the imaging system can impede the decision process. An active autonomous cleaning method for the optical surface of the optical systems reliably would be advantageous. The research work focuses on developing a novel piezo actuator that would keep a guard lens on an optical system clean of fouling contaminants using structural harmonic modes. Emphasis is given to camera systems in this work, with the view that the work can be easily expanded to other optical systems based on techniques developed here. The concept developed is to use ultrasonic vibrations and take advantage of the guard lens\u27 structural harmonic modes to remove the contaminants. A process for design, optimization, and prototyping of the systems is presented. The prototype’s efficacy is tested with various fluid and solid contaminants. Analytical models are developed in conjunction with this work to help understanding effects of eccentric load acting on circular plate --Abstract, page iii
