Award Data

This SBIR program will demonstrate the potential of magnetron sputtering to deposit pyrophoric thin film compositions with novel microstructures. Their extremely high surface area-to-volume ratios and their controllable chemical compositions make these thin film materials excellent candidates for "smart decoys" for infrared countermeasures. We will deposit such films on suitable substrates and m ...

Data analysis, followed by system software and hardware design for a multi-frequency, amplitude modulated, polarimetric, digital radar sensor suite, which can be used to discriminate natural and anthropogenic, motion-induced perturbations to the aerosol layer above the ocean surface. In an option task, the radar design will be elaborated, and the radar will be fabricated, tested, and demonstrate ...

The development of compact Gbit/sec bandwidth Army free-space, laser communication systems requires a new generation of fiber-optic, high-speed, multi-channel beam controllers. It is proposed to develop a low-loss, multi-channel, integrated transmit/receive, beam-combiner and controller with high-speed, low voltage phase shifting and amplitude modulation capabilities. The Transmit/Receive (Transce ...

Active force-feedback control inceptors are gaining acceptance for potential future use in new and retrofit Army helicopter programs. Current active inceptor types use electric motors, gearboxes and linkages in a closed loop servo system to provide the necessary feel quality and functionality. These units successfully meet the performance requirements, but are expensive and mechanically complex. ...

We propose to build a novel eyesafe fiber laser source capable of operating over the 20-100 kHz repetition rate range. Using a combination of COTS technology from the telecom industry and amplifier designs based upon recent developments at Naval ResearchLabs, the source will deliver 7-10 Watts while maintaining pulse duration

Advancements in military communications technology will enable better information gathering and decision making but require reliable, robust, quiet, and highly portable electrical power that can be provided by a Free-Piston Stirling Engine generator system. Stirling Technology Company's (STC) experience with space power systems indicates that substantial mass reduction can be achieved through mate ...

The purpose of this project is to develop a complete geographic text processing system for tagging place names in text files and spatially visualizing the results. While tools exist for automatically identifying place names in text, this effort focuses on significantly improving the current capabilities within the context of an end-to-end system. The proposed system will support three operations: ...

The U.S. military, in transitioning to a more mobile and networked Future Force, has increasing needs for small, quiet, lightweight, reliable power systems to supply energy for a variety of mission needs in the silent watch category. Currently employed Tactical Quiet Generator (TQG) sets mounted on trailers are heavy and require large footprints. A typical 10 kW generator expends a majority (60%) ...

Incorporating supplemental GIS information and human expert knowledge into digital image processing has been acknowledged as a necessity for improving remote sensing image analysis. However, no commercial image analysis system can currently translateexpert knowledge automatically to a computer-usable format. The objective of this project is to develop a system for seamless and transparent integrat ...

Cavitation peening is a novel method of inducing deep residual compressive stresses in components by sweeping an ultra-high pressure waterjet across the surface. The process is fast, very inexpensive and can be readily applied to a wide variety ofgeometries, including difficult to access surfaces such as intregrally bladed rotors (Blisks) and gears. It is estimated that this new process will be ...