Simplifying and improving educational software creation is the goal of a three-phase project that has as its outcome a five- to ten-hour computer-based course that will teach special education teachers to design and develop instructionally sound courseware. planning systems international, inc. (psi)… More

Areas of the ocean floor disposed to mine burial have soft sediments (i.e., low shear strength) or sandy sediments subject to scour. knowledge of seaflower shear strength, porosity, and grain size would aid the hunt for buried mines. normal incidence, acoustic echo sounders are being developed to… More

Areas of the ocean floor disposed to mine burial have soft sediments (i.e., low shear strength) or sandy sediments subject to scour. knowledge of seafloor shear strength, porosity, and grain size would aid the hunt for buried mines. normal incidence, acoustic echo sounders are being developed to… More

There is considerable evidence that mines bury in many areas where both navy and commercial ships must operate. if these mines are left uncountered, they pose a significant threat to transiting traffic. fortunately, not all sea bottoms are conducive to mine burial, and the buried mine… More

Parametric approaches to target tracking are straightfoward and usually implemented via some variation of the kalman filter. however, a parametric approach uses some form of a gradient search algorithm which can become locked onto extraneous or ambiguous solutions. this occurs because the objective… More

High frequency (hf) communication is very sensitive to the timevarying nature of the channel and consequently data cannot be transmitted across the channel error free. the channel is inherently limited in performance since the channel uses the ionosphere to reflect the transmitted signal. the… More

The lack of ship deployable and operationally useful minesweeping equipment to counter the pressure mine threat remains a critical deficiency. this proposed research is to investigate new techniques, new applications, and use of new technology/materials for development of feasible new approaches to… More

The dolphin, as a self-propelled underwater platform, is characterized by unusually smallhydrodynamic drag, except ionally low flow noise, and marked delay of the onset of boundary layer turbulence. dolphins, swinning in biolumines cent open ocean water at speeds up to 10 kts, for example, are… More

Narrowband spectral analysis is an important signal processing approach for the detection of targets/objects that may be imbedded in various types of noise backgrounds. however, the spectra emitted by many targets/objects is broadband in nature, and requires a different signal processing approach to… More

A vlf high-powered broadband source for active surveillance is proposed, based on a novel, proprietary transducer element: viz, a modified flexure bar with an electrodynamic drive and termed a fitz-gerald flexbar. the combination of the flexbar principles (including true nodal mounts) together with… More

Waterborne intruder detection and neutralization systems have been unable to keep pace with the technologically advanced weaponry and offensive systems now available to attacking swimmers. of the many factors contributing to the lack of progress in addressing this critical shortfall, two serious… More

A new and proprietary low-frequency ceramic sonar projector element has been developed, based on a modified flexure bar, and termed a fitzgerald flexbar. a representative design is shown for a flexducer consisting of 4 flexbars encapsulated into a housing 3-1/2"d x 18"h with a nominal resonant… More

There have been major advances in digital signal processing, from boththe hardware and software standpoint, that allow for the implementation of sophisticated algorithms in small packages to do image enhancement. the mcm community has not made full use of the digital signal processing tools that… More

An examination of neural network processing as an alternative to heavy use of an expert oceanographer in order to determine gulf stream position is warranted due to recent advance in neural network theory. this proposal presents an innovative approach to the use of these new ideas as they apply to… More

The evolution of threat signature characteristics and the introduction of new equipment into the integrated undersea surveillance system (iuss) have created a need for a more capable event reporting language than the current abbreviated tracking and reporting form (atarf). the work proposed here… More

The interest in building intelligent machines is a centuries old goal of mankind. serious research into building intelligent machines began in the early part of this century. while neural networks have been around for several decades, it has only been in this decade, in particular, the last 2 years,… More

This proposal presents an innovative approach to determining the propagation path of acoustic data received by a thin line towed array. we make use of the latest developments in seafloor acoustic modeling capability as well as employing the emerging and powerful techniques associated with artifical… More

In this effort we propose to apply certain recently developed algorithms to the problem of characterizing strange attractors reconstructed from acoustic time series data. these algorithms are now in relatively common use in experimental data analysis of chaotic systems and have enjoyed reasonable… More

Development of a capability for exploiting transients emitted by a submarine during an airborne asw search operation will require multiple sonobuoy processing techniques which can: operate in parallel with normal narrowband/broadband processing; provide some degree of automation for transient… More

Given a set of images of sea surface parameters, it is possible to classify land and ocean areas. high chlorophyllconcentrations in estuaries can indicate plankton bloom conditions. by examining such images, wetland, estuary, and coastal resources can be monitored. however, the operational use of… More

This SBIR is directed to the application of image enhancement techniques to coherent two dimensional transformation of the acoustic time series to enhance low-level, stable signal components from diesel-electric submarines and suppress interference. The transformation are invertable and the final… More

The LOFARgram has long been a standard means of representing sonar signals in a combined time-frequency presentation. The LOFARgram represents a particular way of casting the time-frequency distribtution of acoustic energy as a 2-dimensional image. Thus it is natural to apply the techniques of image… More

This is a proposal to produce an acoustic array design suitable for making acoustic measurements of model helicopters in a wind tunnel. this "feasibility design" will demonstrate the theoretical feasibility of such a wind tunnel array, and will quantify the performance of such an array. the work… More

The objective of this phase i research is to determine the feasibility of utilizing acoustic radiation from vehicle tires to provide a low cost, easy to deploy, unobtrusive, relaible replacement for the current method of collecting vehicle axle passage data. the proposed method will cross-correlate… More

This project will assess the feasibility of using multimedia-augmented sofweare tutorials to support teaching the principles of experimental nuclear physics. the detector system for the photon tagging facility at the continuous electron beam accelerator facility (cebaf) in newport news, virginia is… More

We propose to determine the feasibility and the benefits ofmaking acoustic measurements in wind tunnels - such as the Ames40-by-80 Foot Wind Tunnel using acoustic arrays. To preventacoustic path distortion due to the in-flow/ out-of-flow shearlayer,

The objective of this Phase I research is to evaluate existing Fleet target motion analysis (TMA) algorithms, and to explore techniques that can be used to enhance performance. The Fleet TMA algorithms process active measurements of range and bearing as observed relative to an ownship moving… More

We have developed a new ground penetrating radar (GPR) which exploits stepped frequency technology and uses innovative spatial and temporal signal processing techniques to produce detailed, three dimensional images of buried objects. The resulting images are a significant improvement of ver images… More

The project goal is to produce an algorithm for synthesizing auditory distance which will be accurately perceived with little or no learning required. The algorithm could be added to an existing AF 30D audio system which uses headphones in a noise-reducing helmet. The approach is to… More

Planning Systems Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop and implement a new approach to active sonar signal processing. The proposed approach encompasses the design and evaluation of a new class of signal, Chaotic Frequency Modulation (CFM), that has properties of a nearly ideal 'thumbtack" magnitude… More

The objective of our Phase I research is to demonstrate that it is technologically feasible to package an active sonar with operationally useful detection capabilities in an A-sized sonobuoy canister, at a price which will permit adequate spatial coverage of a littoral region during tactical… More

This is a proposal to demonstrate the utility of a 3-d display for the assessment of active sonar performance. the prototype display will be composed from a set of 3-d tools which will be developed using the c language and navy standard graphics libraries (x-window x11r5, motif, and others). the… More

We present an innovative design to achieve full-duplex ATM telemetry over existing single-coax tow cable systems which are used on many Navy ships and submarines for towing arrays. The proposal includes a comprehensive review of wireline standards, semiconductors, and modems from which we… More

To evaluate the feasibility of using the VLF acoustic channel to achieve covert point to point communication Planning Systems Incorporated (PSI) uses a broadband Finite Element Parabolic Equation (FEPE) underwater acoustic propagation model. The model generates VLF channel transfer functions used… More

Efforts to apply active noise and vibration control commercially, while intensifying, continue to be hampered by the cost of the computers required to implement the active algorithms. Currently, the cost of wide-band control is prohibitive for lightly damped systems such as precision structures or… More

Wind noise in outdoor measuemetn micropnones can mask an acoustic signal. Windscreens provide some wind noise reduction; however, those typically used for outdoor applications provide noise reductions of approximately 10-15 dB. Planning Systems Incorporated (PSI) proposes to design and test a… More

The problem is defined as finding a method to leverage application software into computer-based training (CBT) about mission planning, especially when using Deployable IUSS systems. The Phase I research is based on the use of IconAuthor authoring software for IUSS CBT; and the use of X-Windows… More

A technical approach to exploiting a specific type of non-traditional signal is proposed. This method is highly motivated by the signal properties of a class of signals known as C2 signals. A front to back detection and classification processing chain is discussed which exploits four properties… More

This effort will develop principles and methodologies for remotely collecting high resolution atmospheric data to support simulations with data from live play exercise areas. The principles will be based on analyses of high resolution atmospheric data sets and cloud imagery. The innovative core… More

Although hearing aids can make signals of interest more audible to people with hearing impairments,intelligibility of speech may not be significantly improved when several talkers are present and/orsuch as in a crowded restaurant. Recent studies have predicted or shown some success in improving… More

3-D visualization of multiple RF fields requires innovative display techniques to overcome a number of technical challenges, including surface polygon reduction for increased graphics speed, and discrimination of multiple overlapping surfaces. The innovation in the present proposal derives from the… More

The objective of this Phase I research is to evaluate existing Fleet target motion analysis (TMA) algorithms, and to explore techniques that can be used to enhance performance. The Fleet TMA algorithms process active measurements of range and bearing as observed relative to an ownship moving… More

We have developed a new ground penetrating radar (GPR) which exploits stepped frequency technology and uses innovative spatial and temporal signal processing techniques to produce detailed, three dimensional images of buried objects. The resulting images are a significant improvement of ver images… More

Efforts to apply active noise and vibration control commercially, while intensifying, continue to be hampered by the cost of the computers required to implement the active algorithms. Currently, the cost of wide-band control is prohibitive for lightly damped systems such as precision structures or… More

Planning Systems Incorporated (PSI) presents an innovative approach to the development and design of a Surveillance Array ATM Network which provides the benefits of open-architecture ATM technology while solving issues such as coherent sample rate clock distribution across sensor nodes. PSI's… More

This effort will provide a Tactical Operating Environment to support migration of advanced development and COTS applications by implementation of a common Network Environment (CNE). The key innovations are using Interface Definition Language (IDL), Internet Inter-Object Protocal (IIOP), Common… More

Neural control algorithms have been the subject of intensive study and development over the last ten years. Their chief advantages are their potntial to control many sensors and actuators in a distributed fashion, thus relieving the burden levied on each computational unit; and their ability to… More

Not Available Recent advances in volumetric display technology have yielded displays capable of presenting full color, three-dimensional images within a transparent medium. The resulting images are also transparent, because there is no means of rendering the solid volume of these images in a… More

Not Available Future naval combat systems will include wideband radars for high range resolution (HRR) target detection and discrimination functions. However, such functions in large arrays cannot be supported by conventional narrowband beamsteering techniques. TSC proposes a new approach to… More

Not Available Many military and commercial radar, weapon guidance, and imaging systems require solid state transmitter power sources. IMPATT devices have been serving as the primary transmitter source for applications such as W-band high peak power, short pulse radar and guidance systems.… More

The effective use of active sonar systems in littoralenvironments relies on the accurate knowledge of the acousticenvironment. Current Navy standard databases for ocean bottomproperties provide a valuable tool for planning but do notcurrently provide the spatial resolution needed. Inversion… More

The extreme flexibility of proposed ultra-lightweight spacecraft, such as the Air Force's PowerSail, will require a new generation of attitude control systems (ACS) that can accommodate low-frequency flexible dynamics within the pointing control bandwidth.In addition, as spacecraft designs continue… More

There exists a body of information associated with crowd dynamics. However, much of thisinformation is associated with overall characteristics (e.g., crowd size, motivation, age range, andcultural diversity) or exit behavior at games and concerts. Information concerning interactionsand responses… More

The results of our Phase I have shown that stand off detection of anti-tank mines is possible with a forward-looking ground-penetrating synthetic aperture radar (GPSAR). The design critera outlined in our Phase I report will be used in our Phase II effortto construct a more effective forward… More

The extreme flexibility of proposed ultra-lightweight spacecraft, such as the Air Force's PowerSail, will require a new generation of attitude control systems (ACS) that can accommodate low-frequency flexible dynamics within the pointing control bandwidth.In addition, as spacecraft designs continue… More

"The increasing demands for higher performance optical acquisition, tracking, and pointing (ATP) systems, combined with cost pressures requiring lighter payloads, indicates a need for a new approach to slewing and structural control. The use of lighterweight structures exacerbates the interaction… More

"In response to this Phase I topic, Planning Systems Incorporated (PSI) proposes the development of physics-based algorithms to characterize the effects of the environment on polarization-based imagery collected by an airborne platform over a 24-hour periodanywhere in the world, and the development… More

"Recent simulator studies have concluded that significant channel interference and fallout occurwhen interferors occur within the uplink transmission band. Although methods involvingredundancy, encryption, compression, code/decode (CODEC) can address improvements insensitivity, each is also… More

The increasing demands for higher performance optical acquisition, tracking, and pointing (ATP) systems, combined with cost pressures requiring lighter payloads, indicates a need for a new approach to slewing and structural control. The use of lighterweight structures exacerbates the interaction of… More

The goal of PSI's Phase II program is to develop prototype models to enable an improved theoretical understanding of the physics behind measured spectral polarization signatures, both indoors and outdoors, and to use this increased knowledge for militaryand commercial applications. Based on the… More

As precision space systems evolve to larger sizes, packaged in ever smaller envelopes, the complexity of the mechanical stowage and deployment schemes increase correspondingly. Traditionally, control of deployment is the responsibility, not of thedeveloper of the structure, but of a higher-level… More

The increasing emphasis on the use of smaller satellites for space experiments and operational systems by the DoD and NASA has given rise to increasing standardization of small-sat systems, resulting in reduced costs and acquisition time. However, becauseof inevitable trades between resources and… More

The prominence of launch costs in the implementation of space flight experiments has fueled the development of small-, mini-, and micro-sats that are tasked with hosting experiment capabilities of increasing complexity. As the deployed size ofexperimental space payloads grows, while holding stowed… More

The performance of active Navy sonar systems in littoral environments is often limited by strong reverberation, typically from the seabed. Reverberation can be subdivided into discrete clutter events and diffuse bottom reverberation, with discrete clutterevents being the most serious problem for the… More

We propose integrating COTS data mining software and available supporting acoustic databases to create the TSMS Operator Assistant. COTS data mining software such as NCR's TERADATA or CA's CleverPath will perform data analysis, association, and predictionto detect acoustic faults using TSMS… More

The increasing emphasis on using smaller satellites for space experiments, technology demonstration, and operational systems by DoD, NASA, and private industry has given rise to increasing standardization of small-sat components and systems, resulting in reduced costs and acquisition time. However,… More

The prominence of launch costs in space flight experiments has fueled the development of small satellites with payloads of increasing complexity. As the deployed size of payloads grows without increasing stowed volume, the complexity of the mechanical deployment schemes increase correspondingly. … More

The Air Force has an operational need to launch satellites on demand for a variety of missions. One critical capability required to achieve this goal is the rapid fabrication and integration of satellites. As spacecraft designs increasingly emphasize small buses and large deployable payloads, it… More

The current state of the art methodology for satellite development and integration relies on highly customized payload designs. The Air Force has identified an operational need for the capability to launch spacecraft on demand for a variety of DoD missions. A critical missing enabling technology… More

The challenge presented in this SBIR topic is to create a tool that allows an operator to create near-optimal search plans for a given environment, suite of sensors and threat types. Sensor performance, often expressed in terms of a probability of detection, for each sensor type is predicted using… More

The advancement of space systems and technology to a large extent depends on our ability to cost-effectively progress from early technology conceptualization to development, maturation and implementation. While advanced space technology development is almost always a risky endeavor, it is critical… More

Planning Systems, Inc. (PSI) proposes to demonstrate through modeling and simulation, that polarization technology can be exploited to enhance the remote detection of coastal phenomena relevant to NOAA¿s mission. PSI proposes to adapt an existing toolkit developed under Air Force research and… More

This task will develop a software prototype of the TSMS Operator Assistant and demonstrate its feasibility on TSMS data with known noise sources. TSMS is a submarine system that contains a network of acoustic and vibration sensors and centralized analysis. Ship personnel analyze the TSMS data to… More

The performance of active Navy sonar systems in littoral environments is often limited by strong reverberation and discrete, target-like clutter events. An accurate, physics-based model for the prediction of clutter and diffuse reverberation is needed in order to shape the development of new sonar… More

The goal of the Phase II program is to expand the development of the fault-tolerant, general-purpose Experiment Computer System (ECS) and Laser Metrology System (LMS) from the feasibility study of Phase I and concurrent Phase II activities to Engineering Development Unit (EDU) level applicable to… More

Planning Systems, Inc. (PSI) proposes to demonstrate through modeling and simulation, that polarization technology can be exploited to enhance the remote detection of coastal phenomena relevant to NOAA¿s mission. PSI proposes to adapt an existing toolkit developed under Air Force research and… More

The increasing emphasis on using smaller satellites for space experiments, technology demonstration, and operational systems by DoD, NASA, and private industry has given rise to increasing standardization of small-sat components and systems, resulting in reduced costs and acquisition time. However,… More

Helicopter crewmembers must function in an environment with high background noise that can cause hearing damage. With current hearing protection, excessive noise exposure may still occur in 30% of the aviation environments. We propose to extend the capabilities of the standard passive… More

A Surf Zone (SZ) Mapping and Sensor System based on bottom drifters that are relatively invulnerable to effects of breaking waves and that are moved by near bottom currents without using their own power will be further developed. Each drifter will be large enough to incorporate multiple sensors… More

The objective is to determine the best algorithmic approach to optimally select unmanned vehicle flight paths that maximize mission success for attached sensors. That involves trade-offs between a) active emissions and passive collections, b) high and low altitudes, c) high and low speeds, d) day… More

The ability to estimate the geoacoustic properties of the ocean bottom from measured acoustic data has progressed rapidly with advances in non-linear inversion algorithms and with improvements in computing hardware. The current approaches based upon the inversion of measured transmission loss data… More

DD(X) will require reduced manning of the sonar watch stations to meet its goal of overall reduced manning. However, passive sonar analysis is manpower intensive, particularly in analysis of broadband, narrowband, and LOFAR data. We propose to utilize the technique of Case Based Reasoning to… More

Since the Second World War, increased performance has been acquired by investing heavily in expensive new sensor hardware, including advanced off-board sensors, at the near exclusion of developing new algorithms and tactics to optimize use of sensors in complex environments. The shift toward… More

We propose a distributed underwater sensor grid for covert and persistent monitoring and environmental characterization of ocean physical properties, ambient noise, and the seabed in littoral regions. Each node consists of a single-point, catenary moored sub-surface float that harvests wave energy,… More

The physics of future space-based radar systems that are capable of tactical-grade target tracking require very large apertures operating at high orbital altitudes. It is essential to develop a system for locating the critical RF antenna components in response to thermal and dynamic inputs if the… More

Frequent ARCI system upgrades, the addition of new sensors, new classes of targets, and operations in congested areas combine to make the sonar operator's job busier. While sonar data is stored on board during tactical operations, operators do not have time to review it for missed contacts. A tool… More

One of the limiting factors for the development of advanced MDA related radar systems technology is the ability to test new concepts in an operational environment. Simulations, advanced modeling and range tests all provide valuable insight into the expected behavior of these systems during… More

The Air Force has an operational need to launch satellites on demand for a variety of missions as well as to provide last minute tailoring for dynamic mission requirements. One of the critical capabilities required to achieve this goal is the ability to rapidly integrate all the necessary satellite… More

DoD has identified the potential posed by a hostile nation detonating a nuclear device at high altitude as a very damaging asymmetrical threat. Such a high altitude nuclear detonation (HAND) event can result in severe damage to our nations' critical space assets, as well as to our commercial space… More

Ocean waves are well-known to be the most hazardous of ocean environmental conditions affecting vessel operations. The vast majority of incidents responded to by the U.S. Coast Guard, injuries and fatalities, and damage to or sinking of vessels (particularly small craft) are wave-related. … More