Award Data

This proposed work will generate a targeted phosphate ester hydrolysis catalyst for agent denial. This catalyst will be targeted by conjugation to single stranded DNA. Characteristics of the catalyst will be determined, including ruggedness, targeting selectivity, and potential methods for deployment.

The evolution of network-centric environments increasingly provides access to more data and collaborators relevant to decision making. Unfortunately, it also means the decision-maker increasingly needs to efficiently and effectively utilize that data in order to stay competitive. In network-centric warfare the consequences of less than optimal performance can be extremely serious. With the deploym ...

Fully autonomous, taskable robots for use in unconstrained environments are still a dream rather than a reality because of a host of problems, including capabilities of existing sensors, effectors, and control/planning software. Indeed, concepts of operations for robot use require that robots collaborate directly with humans, in relationships similar to bomb squad dogs. Fortunately, enough progres ...

We shall investigate, implement and demonstrate MAVIS, a 3D vision system incorporating robust Real-Time SFM for SMAV application scenarios. Automatic pose determination and extraction of 3D structure of the environment are critical to autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance of SMAVs in constrained and crowded environments. Extracting such state information under various constraints (low qual ...

Improvements in configuration of potential thermobaric warheads are presented. Such improvements in configuration will allow faster mixing rates, resulting in a reduction in total reaction time. Higher reaction rates, and lower reaction times lead to more complete reaction of thermobaric fuels, which will cause thermobaric weapons to better engage enclosed targets and cause more extensive damage ...

The use of the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) has become a favorite weapon of choice against the U.S. and Iraqi military and civilian population during the current conflict in Iraq. The potential use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) as IEDs to increase the area of effect and intensity of the attacks is growing as is the possibility of spreading IED use around the globe. The wide spread av ...

Three concepts will be evaluated in order to achieve flow separation and penetration enhancement of Earth Penetrating Weapons (EPW). One concept addresses the merit of carrying fluid within the EPW. The other two describe new techniques addressing the generation of gases from the structure of the penetrator accompanied by energy release in the interface. Experimental as well as analytical effort ...

A Phase I effort to investigate the use of poly-crystalline Ge-on-Si and strained SiGe alloy grown on silicon for near-infrared photodetectors is proposed. These devices are expected to cover the spectral band that stretches from a wavelength of 0.8 to 1.6 microns. If reasonable performance devices can be fabricated, this will potentially pave the way for the integration of signal processing e ...

The remarkable sensitivity, compactness, low cost, low power-consumption, scalability, and versatility of microcantilever sensors make this technology possibly the best solution for container screening. In Phase I, Nevada Nanotech Systems (NNTS) successfully demonstrated all components of a prototype sensor system for measuring the concentrations of unlawful or hazardous materials in shipping con ...

There is an urgent need to procure for our military forces on the ground in Iraq and in other locations technology and equipment which provide the capability to effectively and immediately detect, assess, and defend against the threat from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). It is believed that this same threat, applied to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) dispersal, could also increasingly beco ...