Award Data

The flexFORCE engineering team has completed assessment of the critical technical factors required for successful ASP deployment (weight, pointing accuracy, control response, actuation power required, failure modes and effects, scalability, and manufacturability). The team has evaluated the ASP operational environment and requirements, developed a preliminary system design, and executed both dyna ...

As infrared (IR) electo-optical sensors improve in both availability and quality a strong need exists to have comparable improvements in the performance of military obscurants within the IR band. Conventional approaches for creating effective IR obscurants have relied primarily on shaped metal particles with high aspect ratios (e.g. rods, flakes). While efficient it is difficult to create very ...

This project employs a massively parallel, low cost, low power, associative-memory pattern detection processor soon-to-market by a major semiconductor producer. Phase 1 will use a microprocessor emulator to develop, test, and analyze"very large scale anomaly detectors"(developed under a prior SBIR project) organized in a 3-level hierarchical sense-making architecture of spatial, temporal, and corr ...

Advanced infrared imaging (night vision) equipment forms a critical component of the US military's tactical capabilities. The development of new third-generation, multi-wavelength infrared focal-plane arrays (FPAs) promises to enhance the superiority of the US military by providing improved target discrimination and identification, along with enhanced resolution. These developments require th ...

The proposed work will result in a method for production of dense, hard, tough, strong tungten carbide (WC) ceramic material for ultimate use as the penetrating core in armor piercing projectiles. Focus is on the development and feasibility of a titanium silicon carbide (Ti3SiC2) based matrix as a replacement for cobalt based materials currently used. Ti3SiC2 is a so called ductile ceramic which ...

In the proposed effort, we will leverage this extensive experience and capabilities to realize a frequency agile mmW radiometer that can cover the range of DC-110 GHz and can be scaled to DC-200 GHz under Phase II. Ours is a photonic system that multiplies and up-coverts a low-frequency reference signal onto an optical carrier (laser) using EO modulation, then uses the modulation sidebands to inj ...

Millimeter-wave RADAR imaging holds significant promise for many applications from rotorcraft DVE mitigation to standoff security screening. A key challenge of this imaging modality, however, has been the implementation of an effective method for creating an image without relying on either mechanical scanning or expensive, high SWAP phased array techniques. Herein, we present a concept for creat ...

In Afghanistan, fuel to run electrical generators is a major cost driver. The DoD"s latest method is"right size"with units with multiple generators of different ratings and train soldiers to manually switch generators as demand changes. Typically, demand has wide swings throughout the day and soldiers can"t just stand next to generators to"right size."Inevitably, fuel will be wasted waiting for so ...

Modern ground warfare platforms are burdened with the critical need for escalating capabilities effectiveness in the face of prohibitive competition for platform size, weight, and power (SWAP). Traditionally, stand-alone sensor packages were developed singly, and treated as individual add-ons to already SWAP-burdened platforms; the inherent inefficiency of stand-alone capabilities can no longer be ...

New enhancements to mobile computers including smaller sensors, displays and powerful processors have made them much more attractive for the battlefield, not only as wearable systems for soldiers, but also unattended ground sensors a warfighter can leave behind for situational awareness. Unfortunately, while the technologies for hands-free interfacing have improved greatly, the challenge of limiti ...