Award Data

This program will develop an innovative Augmented Reality Navigation (ARNAV) application to help guide astronauts through important tasks within and about space habitats that require navigation and guidance capabilities. Using advanced vision and inertial processing combined with novel Rapidly-exploring Random Tree* (RRT*) algorithms for path planning and Random Finite Set (RFS)-based localization ...

Aloft Sensing Inc. (Aloft) proposes to adapt and establish the feasibility of our scalable Radar Vision Systems (RVS) for operation on solar system bodies. RVS consist of state-of-the-art multichannel mm-wave radars coupled with our patent-pending position, navigation, and timing algorithms (AloftPNT). Demonstrated through simulations and field experiments, these systems achieve both accurate self ...

The Collaborative Tradespace Capability (CTC) prototype proposed by the SSI team is designed to address critical areas of interest to NASA, such as improving model interoperability, managing varying levels of fidelity/uncertainty, and rapidly and iteratively operating across a distributed collaborative environment to characterizenbsp;and selectnbsp;optimum candidates. The goal of the Phase I proje ...

Current aerial wildfire management is limited by existing operational limitations imposed by regulations and manual airspace management techniques, preventing integration of new aircraft types such as UAS. Core issues preventing optimal use of the wildfire response airspace are:Lack of integrated planning and deconfliction between manned aircraft and UASLack of manned aircraft situational awarenes ...

This program will develop an innovative small spacecraft navigation system using X-ray energy band observations of celestial sources by measuring the photon flux change during the time of the horizon crossing due to occultation by a planetary body, referred to as Occultation X-ray Navigation (OXNAV). Previous work by ASTER Labs has demonstrated concept feasibility of X-ray navigation (XNAV) using ...

Space operations are undergoing a paradigm shift towards persistent assets in space, supported by coordinated, adjustable human-robot partnerships. Such partnerships require enabling technologies which can: support co-design of reference missions, partner robots and novel human-robot teaming paradigms to assist in integrated mission planning and execution. To address these challenges, SoarTech, al ...

Due to delays in communication during deep space missions, astronauts will need to solve more problems without connection to ground teams. To reduce overburdening, the astronauts will leverage new decision aids including procedure generation tools. New virtual assistants are needed that can explain decision aid outputs, reducing ambiguity, increasing task performance, and helping to calibrate astr ...

On-board autonomy will be critical to the success of manned deep-space missions. Deep space missions will not have the same level of contact with ground-based mission control, and so the astronauts themselves will have to deal with novel situations that were impossible to anticipate and prepare for prior to launch. This fact requires a successful autonomy solution to be able to improvise and synth ...

A primary critical hardware need that is common to all atomic quantum sensors ndash; including atomic clocks, inertial sensors, gravimeters, and electromagnetic sensors ndash; is laser and laser-frequency-stabilization subsystems for the specific manipulation of atoms and readout in the quantum sensor that is in a portable form factor and operational in real-world and harsh environments on sea, la ...

This SBIR Phase I project will develop lightweight, high-strength, temperature-resilient copper-based cabling derived from a facile manufacturing process. In previous work, large volumetric fractions of gold, silver, and copper nanoparticles (NPs) were incorporated into a porous aramid nanofiber (ANF) matrix to realize films that have high electrical conductivity, yet maintain superior mechanical ...