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On-board navigation for small MAVs in ship-borne environments

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Navy
Contract: N00014-12-M-0255
Agency Tracking Number: N121-101-0271
Amount: $79,985.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N121-101
Solicitation Number: 2012.1
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2012
Award Year: 2012
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2012-05-07
Award End Date (Contract End Date): N/A
Small Business Information
4905 Reno Road NW
Washington, DC -
United States
DUNS: 111048521
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Geoffrey Barrows
 President
 (202) 238-9545
 geof@centeye.com
Business Contact
 Geoffrey Barrows
Title: President
Phone: (202) 238-9545
Email: geof@centeye.com
Research Institution
 Stub
Abstract

The goal of this effort is to build a fully on-board vision based navigation system for small micro air vehicles (SMAVs) that will allow autonomous flight and navigation in a ship-borne environment. The target platform is a hovering air vehicle of 7cm to 20cm in size with a payload capacity between 2 and 10 grams. Short range navigation, e.g. stability, relative orientation, and obstacle avoidance, will be provided by a vision system using a combination of optical flow, parallax, stereo vision, and optionally structured light. Long range navigation will be provided by a topological map coupled with SLAM-derived 3D odometry algorithms. The most significant challenge is fitting such capabilities, which have been demonstrated on much larger platforms, into the SMAV"s payload constraint, while operating at the higher update rate typically required of such smaller platforms. To do this, we propose using Centeye"s"vertical integration"methodology to fabricate hardware specifically for air vehicles of this class. In the base effort we will use bench tests to explore methods of implementing relevant sensing methods to meet payload capacities. In the option effort we will flight test select methods, in an open loop fashion, on our current 18cm helicopter test bed.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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