Award Data

Achieving hypersonic flight with air breathing vehicles using logistics fuels is a demanding task. A significant challenge in the development of single use and reusable systems alike is ignition of the scramjet engine at low Mach numbers. Unfortunately, current ignition systems do not provide reliable performance at low Mach number. Therefore, there is a strong need for a significant ignition capa ...

Ground-based testing of air / space-borne sensors & trackers (SBIRS, GMD, THAAD, etc.) requires achromatic optical collimation systems that can project dynamic scenes & targets at very large apparent distances. The collimation system must undergo major adjustments to optimally accommodate the FOV of various test articles, but the projection quality is extremely sensitive to misalignment of the lar ...

Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries are ubiquitous in space and military applications, generating more efficient and effective systems. The increase in Li-ion cells also represents an increase in hazardous cell failure instances. Electrical shorting, overcharging, over-discharging, and physical damage to the cells can result in thermal runaway (TR), yielding violent and explosive events that can result ...

SpaceWorks proposes to continue development and advancement of its novel QuickShot trajectory optimization software suite. A number of new modeling capabilities of value when simulating advanced military systems will be implemented. Additionally, a variety of case studies and applications that will showcase and demonstrate utilization of these new features will be conducted.

We will develop a series of object manipulation primitives to pick up and assemble standard mechanical parts such as screws, gears and pulleys that can be configured without any programming skills. Building up on a smart robotic gripper, 3D perception and machine learning algorithms, we will design a graphical user interface for the Universal Robot E-Series that allows an user to label arbitrary 3 ...

General Aviation (GA) accounts for ninety four percent of all aviation accidents with weather being the most lethal factor. Studies have shown these accidents arise because pilots have difficulty screening out non-essential data, focusing on key facts, and correctly evaluating weather related risks. Adaptive Systems LLC has developed a novel framework called WISE: the Weather Intelligence Support ...

Advanced Radar Company (ARC) proposes a feasibility study of Aregn, our commercial open source software product for real-time multi-sensor terrestrial weather data processing. Aregn is currently in operations for customers around the world primarily servicing meteorology agencies and airports. Aregn directly addresses the USAF need for better real-time data integration from multiple sensor platfor ...

Orbital Micro Systems proposes a study on the use of its WeatherLock technology for advanced weather forecasting capabilities for the warfighter. WeatherLock is a novel weather forecasting technology that enables forecasting models to be continuously updated by satellites in near real time. This allows for forecasting errors to be corrected for as the model is running, leading to more accurate for ...

Guidestar Optical Systems develops optical turbulence forecasting, measuring, and compensation technologies to support commercial laser communications systems. Numerous Air Force applications, including directed energy laser weapons, free space optical communication systems, and advanced encryption and data security, to name a few, are impacted by optical turbulence. In this program, Guidestar wil ...

In this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I program, Modeling Tools for the Drilling of Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs), Third Wave Systems (TWS) will develop and demonstrate innovative multi-scale modeling tools for the drilling of polymer matrix composites (PMCs), which is enabled by integration of advanced material constitutive models, detailed-level finite element analysis (FEA), and N ...