A surface film instrumentation (SuFI) system will be developed to measure, in real time, vortex dynamics using advanced non-intrusive hot-film sensors. An innovative 5-element hot-film sensor design will be used to determine the surface streamline direction resulting from the off-surface, … More

A miniaturized, low power and low-volume instrumentation system using waterproofed micro-thin hot-film sensors and large bandwidth constant voltage anemometer will be developed for accurate measurement of speed and direction of underwater vehicles. Theperformance of the proposed innovation will be… More

A revolutionary approach is proposed to obtain in real time, aerodynamic loads and moments in terms of the instantaneous locations of principal aerodynamic flow phenomena such as the stagnation, flow separation, reattachment, boundary-layer transition, etc. The stability, control, safety, ride… More

Conventional passive control systems are associated with large penalties at off-design conditions that are frequently encountered in a typical flight envelope. The proposed innovation will result in the development of an active control system with highperformance gains at all flight conditions. A… More

Conventional passive control systems are associated with large penalties at off-design conditions that are frequently encountered in a typical flight envelope. The proposed innovation will result in the development of an active control system with highperformance gains at all flight conditions. A… More

A revolutionary approach is proposed to obtain in real time, aerodynamic loads and moments in terms of the instantaneous locations of principal aerodynamic flow phenomena such as the stagnation, flow separation, reattachment, boundary-layer transition, etc. The stability, control, safety, ride… More

Electro-Active Polymers (EAP) and Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) will be used to develop hybrid synthetic muscles to propel underwater biomimetic vehicle. EAP materials that offer excellent dynamic (high frequency) response with small strains will be integratedwith SMA actuators that provide large static… More

A miniature shear stress measurement system will be developed for marine hydrodynamic applications. Tao Systems will design and fabricate a miniature waterproofed sensor array with at least 32 sensor elements. The sensor will be mounted on a representativewater-tunnel model which has well-known… More

Currently, surface ship or underwater vehicle propulsors have fixed blade geometries. This introduces limitations, which are common in most passive control/geometry systems, when compared to active control/geometry systems. A typical limitation, forexample, is the performance degradation suffered by… More

A high dynamic response, Real-time Aeroelastic Measurement System (RAMS) using microns-thin hybrid sensor arrays will be developed to provide simultaneous unsteady normal-pressure and tangential shear-stress distributions on lifting surfaces undergoing bending and torsion during in-flight flutter… More

A high dynamic response, Real-time Aeroelastic Measurement System (RAMS) using microns-thin hybrid sensor arrays will be developed to provide simultaneous unsteady normal-pressure and tangential shear-stress distributions on lifting surfaces undergoing bending and torsion during in-flight flutter… More

Gust loads have a direct impact on the performance, wing structural weight and fatigue life of flight vehicles. Tao Systems proposes to develop an integrated embedded-actuation and (distributed) sensing system (EASSy) to measure, monitor, and control spanwise aerodynamic loading and wing-root… More

Micron-thin surface hot-film signatures will be used to simultaneously obtain airspeed and flow direction. The flow-angle and airspeed sensor system (FASS) will provide airspeed with practically zero-lag and to less than one knot accuracy and flow angularity to a fraction of a degree, with natural… More

An Integrated Sensing and Control of Aeroelastic Deformation (ISCAD) Toolbox is proposed. Specif-ically, this toolbox will provide a methodology, both hardware and software, that serves to compensate for uncommanded de?ections of ?ight systems. This toolbox is meant to augment existing procedures… More

Tao Systems proposes to develop a cost-effective, adaptive accelerometer having 60dB resolution over the dynamic range of acceleration from 0.001 to 100,000 g. We propose to combine an array of signal- and range-optimized MEMS accelerometer devices with a novel active sensor circuit (ASC) topology… More

A three-axis low airspeed, low-cost air data sensor (3x-LAS) using hot-film gages will be developed for helicopter applications. Low speed flight consisting of hover, forward, rearward, and lateral motion impacts important flight-operation problems involving vehicle performance, flight stability… More

Micron-thin surface hot-film gages are used to develop flow-angle and airspeed sensor system (FASS). Unlike Pitot-static and other pressure-based devices, which experience serious limitations in accuracy, pneumatic lags, and frequency response in thin upper atmospheres and at low speeds, FASS will… More

Gust loads have a direct impact on the performance, wing structural weight and fatigue life of flight vehicles. Tao Systems proposes to develop an integrated embedded-actuation and sensing system (EASSy) to measure, monitor, and control spanwise aerodynamic loading of a flexible wing subjected to… More

Tao Systems proposes to develop an adaptive accelerometer for obtaining high-resolution measurements for an extreme dynamic range. Specifically, the accelerometer will provide 60dB resolution from 0.001 g to 100,000 g through through the integration of tailored MEMS accelerometer devices in an… More

Recent experimental studies have shown that insects, bats, and birds manipulate vortex structures (circulation) with active wing morphing in order to achieve high lift even at low speeds. Tao Systems in partnership with the University of Florida proposes the development of an innovative technique to… More

A reconfigurable structural and aerodynamic state sensing system will be developed for determining the internal states such as temperature, strain, loads, deformations, shape and damage, as well as external states such as stagnation point, separation point and surface pressure profile. The effort… More

The tracking of critical flow features (CFFs) such as stagnation point, flow separation, shock, and transition in flight provides insight into actual aircraft performance/safety. Sensing of these CFFs across flight regimes involves numerous challenges such as a wide temperature/pressure range from… More

A reconfigurable structural and aerodynamic state sensing (RSASS) system will be developed for determining the internal states such as temperature, strain, loads, deformations, shape and damage, as well as external states such as stagnation point, separation point and surface pressure profile, which… More

New aircraft designs depend on an integrated active approach to flight control, flutter suppression and structural mode attenuation to meet desired handling quality performance and gust load alleviation. Tao Systems will team with Professor Gary Balas at the University of Minnesota to (1) develop a… More

Aerodynamic and structural reliability and efficiency depends critically on the ability to accurately assess the aerodynamic loads and moments for each lifting surface. A thin-film, flight-worthy sensor capable of providing spatio-temporally accurate estimation of aerodynamic coefficients enables… More

Large amplitude, unsteady heating loads and steep flow gradients produced in regions of shock-wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction (SWTBLI) pose a serious and challenging problem for designers of hypersonic vehicles. Characterizing SWTBLI flow features, such as the size of flow separation, is… More

Flight control, structural reliability, and efficiency depend critically on the ability to assess the time-accurate unsteady aerodynamic loads and moments for each lifting surface under nominal and adverse flow conditions. Tao Systems and California Institute of Technology propose to develop a flow… More

New aircraft designs depend on an integrated active approach to flight control, flutter suppression and structural mode attenuation to meet desired handling quality performance and gust load alleviation. Tao Systems will team with Professor Gary Balas at the University of Minnesota to (1) develop a… More

Large amplitude, unsteady heating loads and steep flow gradients produced in regions of shock-wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction (SWTBLI) pose a serious and challenging problem for designers of hypersonic vehicles. Characterizing SWTBLI flow features, such as the size of flow separation, is… More