Defense + Commercial Sensing Courses

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Expert instruction at SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing


Learn directly from world-renowned experts

SPIE courses are designed to expand your professional knowledge and skills. Topics at Defense + Commercial Sensing include optomechanics, E-O imaging systems, lidar, deep learning, and more. Take what you learn and apply it directly to your work.

Person attending SPIE online course on defense and sensing topics

Preview courses that will be part of the 2024 program


Watch recordings of webinars on courses related to Defense + Commercial Sensing. These sessions are part of the free SPIE Instructional Webinar series designed to introduce various optics and photonics topics while also previewing some of our most popular courses. See the list below to view each one.

Course previews


View: Multiple Radar Sensor Date Fusion: Target Tracking and State Estimation Levels

Lawrence Klein of Klein & Associates provides an overview of the target tracking and state estimation methods associated with multisensor data fusions.

This webinar also serves as a brief introduction to his in-person course, Target Tracking and State Estimation Methods Associated with Multisensor Data Fusion (SC1243).

View: Putting the Practical in Optical System Design

Optical system design, specification, layout, and engineering remain critical to the global technical community. We outline a practical approach to optical system design to maximize your success.

In this webinar, Richard Youngworth, Founder and Chief Engineer of Riyo LLC, and Craig Olson, Engineering Fellow for Imaging and Optical Systems at L3 Harris, provide an introduction to their full SPIE course, Practical Optical System Design (SC003). 

SPIE Member discounts


SPIE Members receive discounts on courses, which are applied at the time of registration. SPIE Student Members receive even greater discounts on courses, particularly during early registration.

For more information contact education@spie.org.

Not an SPIE Member? Purchase Membership with your registration and receive your discount right away.

Frequently asked questions


• Check in at the Registration Desk to get your badge and course ticket.

• Go to the Course Desk.*

• Have your badge scanned and exchange your course ticket for your course materials and the classroom location.**

* The Course Desk is usually in the same location as the Registration Desk. If not, ask the volunteer who checked you in — they will know!

** Your course materials serve as your actual ticket to enter the classroom. Do not go to the classroom without picking up your course materials first. As such, be sure to do this step at least 30 minutes before your first course starts to get to the classroom on time.

Course registrations include a printed copy of the course materials. Some courses may include textbooks. Check the course descriptions for more information.

Yes, most people collect materials for multiple courses at the same time.

Classroom locations are provided on site when you collect your course materials. Locations vary and courses may be held in a different location than the conferences.

We recommend coming to the Course Desk at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the course to give yourself time to collect your materials and walk to your classroom.

As a courtesy to the instructor and other attendees, please arrive at the classroom at least five minutes prior to, but no later than the posted start time.

Course materials can be picked up any time before the scheduled date and time of your course, but it is a good idea to pick them up at least 30 minutes prior. Remember, you will not be allowed access to your classroom without them.

Yes, you may register on site for courses that still have open seats. However, we recommend registering for courses early to ensure you get a seat in the course you want. Courses do fill up, so a seat may not be available. Also, courses without sufficient registration three weeks prior to the event are subject to cancellation.

No, there are no waitlists for courses. Be sure to register early to secure your seat in the course you want.

Sometimes, a course instructor becomes unavailable and needs to cancel their course. Or, if there is an insufficient number of registrations three weeks prior to the conference, SPIE reserves the right to cancel a course.

In either event, you will be contacted by SPIE staff via email.

You will receive a full refund for the course less a $75 USD service charge for processing the refund.

Requests for refunds must be received by the early registration cut-off date.

PLEASE NOTE: All registration fees will be forfeited after this date.

No, the in-person courses will not be recorded. You must take the course on site at the specified time.

No, there is no option to attend an in-person course virtually. The course is not recorded so registrants will not receive a recording after the event. You must take the course on site at the specified time.

SPIE has a broad portfolio of online courses. These courses are versions of our live courses, taught by the same experts, but accessible at a time and place that work for you. But not all of our courses at conferences are available in this format.

To see the current list of online offerings and to get more information, visit SPIE Online Courses.

Yes, SPIE awards digital badges and certificates to participants who attend in-person courses at events. Certificates will be sent via email to attendees approximately eight weeks after the conference has ended.

To receive these digital credentials, you must:

  • Be present for the entire course
  • Complete the course quiz
  • Fill out the course evaluation
  • Fill in your contact information in the space provided
  • Drop the completed quiz and evaluation form in the Course Evaluation Box in the classroom or at the Course Desk

More information about digital credentials can be found at SPIE Badges and Certificates.

If you have more questions about these courses, please contact education@spie.org for assistance.