Award Data

In prior projects, including a 2015 ED/IES SBIR award, the team developed two immersive multiplayer virtual game environments. In Eco and Colony, middle school students collaboratively apply scientific practices within the virtual worlds to address challenges, such as the availability of resources and energy and maintaining clean water. With this Phase I funding, the team is developing a prototype ...

In an effort to development more robust optical system coatings DTRA, in collaboration with Sandia National Labs, is working to characterize the degradation of optical materials for space systems when exposed to high intensely EUV/ cold x-rays. The experiments utilizes the Double Eagle z-pinch facility which generates high current, high voltage arc pinch plasma to produce an intense EUV and cold x ...

This project team will fully develop and test AlphaBear 2, a vocabulary learning game for grade 4 to 7 students. Vocabulary is a prerequisite for academic success, as it is linked to stronger performance across academic subjects and improved reading comprehension. It is more difficult for students to participate in educational activities without understanding the key vocabulary associated with tha ...

This project develops and evaluates an accident prevention system for manual wheelchairs. A stability control system, similar to technology available for passenger cars is developed and evaluated to establish its feasibility and utility to independent wheelchair users. There were more than 80,000 emergency room visits in 2008 due to wheelchair falls. Falls cause significant physical and potentiall ...

This project optimizes haptic system design parameters and more thoroughly evaluates the impact of a vibratory haptic system for prosthetics. Objectives include: (1) building a hardware and software test bed for non-invasive voluntary control of a prosthetic hand with vibratory haptic feedback, (2) optimizing the tactor application, (3) assessing the effectiveness of tactor vibratory feedback on c ...

This project designs, builds, and evaluates a pre-production prototype of a hearing aid using a three-axis telecoil assembly. Telecoils in hearing aids serve a dual purpose: (1) to enhance telephone conversation, and (2) enable hearing aids to serve as a wireless interface for public audio broadcasts. When broadcasting audio signals, the signal is transmitted to the telecoil sensor (a magnetic fie ...

This project develops an indoor route following system using a novel indoor location technology. This technology allows a user who is blind to follow a path inside a building. Using this device, a visitor to a shopping mall can enter the building and follow a pre-recorded path to a specific store. The user can make his or her own path with the aid of a sighted person or download prerecorded paths ...

In prior research and development, the project team developed LiveSchool, an online platform to track student behavior. With this Phase I funding, the team will develop and test a prototype of an administrator dashboard. The dashboard will generate reports on individual student behavior patterns across classes and on the prevalence of behavioral issues across different teachers. The dashboard will ...

The DoD faces mounting costs for integrated circuits built with advanced technology. Our proposal addresses mixed-signal ASIC design costs and fabrication costs, notably photomask costs and photolithography costs. The ADONIS 1D design methodology has been demonstrated at technologies ranging from 130nm to 16nm. In Phase I of the program, we used ADONIS to design a reference circuit a high-speed c ...

This project develops a multimodal computer graphics visualization tool that is based on an inexpensive consumer electronic product, a wireless haptic accessory device, and visualization software. During Phase I, a prototype is developed and compared against hard-copy embossed print outs and an expensive piezo-electric display. This research is based on the issues faced by the blind and visually i ...