Light Weight Coastal Topographic/ Bathymetric Charting System for Naval Unmanned Airborne Vehicles

Aret Associates has developed and tested a compact lightweight lidar system for precision bathymetry and topography suitable for operation from a small tactical unmanned aerial vehicle. The Pushbroom Imaging Lidar for Littoral Surveillance (PILLS) provides precision hydrographic and terrain mapping, suitable for a variety of unmanned platforms. PILLS has no moving parts, completely eliminating the weight, size, power, and reliability issues associated with scanning lidar systems and cooled lasers. PILLS is an order of magnitude smaller, lighter, and requires a fraction of the power of current lidar systems on manned aircraft, while delivering comparable mapping performance from a small UAV. The subject of this Phase 2 SBIR is to adapt this existing system with an upgraded compact laser and perform the necessary development to operate the system in a high vibration and shock environment associated with ship launched and recovery unmanned aerial vehicles.