Award Data

Contractor will develop innovative concepts and techniques to develop target recognition approaches focused on cognitive synthesis of current and emerging sensor data sources.(Approved for Public Release 15-MDA-8482 (17 November 15))

A multifunctional improved thermal protection system (TPS) is proposed to reduce weight and to incorporate electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and lightning strike protection. TDA has previously done proof-of-concept studies with a heavily modified carbon fiberphenolic TPS. Our material is mechanically robust and exceedingly simple to manufacture. In this project, we will incorporate EMI ...

Current large format focal plane array (FPA) imaging sensors for imaging in low-light conditions in the near infrared / short wavelength infrared (NIR/SWIR) regions are limited by poor signal-to-noise. Electron avalanche photodiodes (e-APDs) using HgCdTe provide internal gain with very little excess noise and allow high signal-to-noise in low-light conditions. Cooling the e-APD SWIR FPA to 77K red ...

Gallium nitride (GaN) has opened the door to solid-state replacements of tube type amplifiers, with commercially-available units starting at low frequencies and continuing to Ku-band.Lower frequencies amplifiers can be constructed using hybrid techniques, where unmatched power field effect transistors (FETs) of large periphery can be made into unit-cell amplifiers using microstrip matching network ...

Luna Innovations will develop technology to nondestructively detect red plague in silver-plated copper wire. The galvanic corrosion between silver and copper which causes red plague is not reliably detectable with conventional cable test equipment and methods and detection instead relies upon destructive techniques, such as stripping off the insulation. Nondestructive red plague detection technolo ...

Signature management technology such as camouflage coatings on military tactical vehicles significantly reduces detection by enemy combatants. Black tires and tracks, however, are in direct contrast to the vehicle and surroundings and constitute a large portion of the vehicle profile. To satisfy this need in Phase I Luna developed a durable, color-matching coating that can be simply applied to tir ...

Rotorcraft landing and takeoff is dangerous in environments where obstacles, particularly wires or power lines, exist, and pilot vision is degraded by obscurants such as dust, smoke, fog, rain and snow. This SBIR would focus on a radar solution to detecting wires and power cables when landing in a visually degraded environment. Existing data for wires and power lines with millimeter wave radars pr ...

Detecting buried in road or roadside explosive threats is a major problem facing the Army on todays battlefield. Recent studies have shown that Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) imaging polarimeters can detect these threats; however, the implementation of the polarimeters has not been traceable to a ruggedized, field ready imaging system. Guidestar Optical Systems proposes to develop an imaging LWIR polar ...

"Efficient acquisition, tracking, and discrimination of threatening objects by geographically dispersed sensors are dependent on precise tracking and sensing of missile defense systems. These systems require state-of-the-art radar processing, antennas, and RF systems.The objective, simply stated, is to provide a sensor system with the ability to acquire and track fast moving targets at extended ra ...

Graf Research proposes to create the GR-TLogger, a tamper logger that makes use of the key management capabilities of next-generation secure FPGAs to store tamper logs that are information rich, semi-permanent, and irrefutable.