Onboard Video Processing Platform for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS)

ABSTRACT: Modern cell phone technology has been driven to create processors with capabilities appropriate to video processors for small unmanned aircraft systems. High definition streaming, video processing and compression, low SWaP and fast development are fundamental industry requirements that mesh perfectly with the SUAS ISR mission. Having built end-to-end SUAS ISR Payloads, including in particular the video processing component, Adsys Controls is well positioned to conduct the work with insight and experience. Adsys Controls will assess and benchmark a number of new generation System On Chip processors including the latest in cell phone and broadcast video processors. An evaluation of software development platforms will be performed to assess ease of code implementation. A software development toolchain and codebase will be developed that will lay the foundation for development of a next generation hardware platform to meet the challenging ISR needs of SUAS platforms. BENEFIT: This activity will have two major benefits. The first is the creation of a flexible, powerful test platform. Using this platform, researchers can easily implement, test and fly different alternative image processing algorithms. That will speed the development cycle, enabling improvements in our national UAS capability. Secondly, the creation of a new, cutting edge hardware platform will bring a generational improvement in the performance and cost of today"s very light vision systems. By reducing SWaP while expanding processing capability, more complex missions will be brought within reach of very lightweight, perhaps even hand-launched unmanned aircraft systems. Performance of Small UAS platforms will approach that of much larger and higher cost platforms with a commensurate reduction in logistics requirements. In addition to DoD applications, the platforms will also enhance the capabilities for other first responder (police, firefighter, emergency relief), border patrol, and homeland security operations. Additional uses exist in the commercial marketplace for video surveillance for security, traffic monitoring, weather observation, as well as entertainment applications.