Award Data

Laser guide stars (LGS) are artificial sources of light produced by laser-induced fluorescence from sodium atoms in the mesosphere between 85 km and 100 km altitude. The fluorescence can be detected on the ground with a telescope and used as a reference for compensating atmospheric aberrations in astronomical and space observations in conjunction with an adaptive optics system. Sodium LGS are vita ...

As the number of optical communication terminals proliferate there will be a need to have these terminals interoperate.  In the past, optical terminals were designed with a single purpose in mind.  New space constellations are requiring non-RF crosslink solutions.  It is expected that there will be a large number of both commercial and military systems providing crosslinks and space to earth li ...

New, innovative laser spectroscopy technology will be developed for performance quantification and combustion characterization in a Rotational Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE). The effort will push the state of the art in tunable laser absorption spectroscopy to enable fast time response diagnostics of the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of an RDRE.

Securing our nations weapon systems is essential to the success of our military.  In recent years, cyber securing these systems has become a dire need and priority for the Department of Defense (DoD).  The main objective for Knowledge Based Systems, Inc. (KBSI) for this project is to develop the Cyber Knowledge Management with Secure Information Transfer for Weapons Systems (CKURITY) system to e ...

A key goal stated in the United States Air Force Science and Technology Strategy for 2030 and Beyond is to “Increase the speed of battlespace understanding and decision-making to act faster than any adversary.” In this project, ISL and Ohio University (ISL-OU) will build on the success of Phase I and deliver a new game-changing capability for reliably performing complex radio frequency, multi- ...

Palm-sized unmanned aerial systems (nano UAS) are emerging as a new tool for warfighters, first responders, and private industry. However, their small mass, fragility, and limited batteries still necessitate the use of emerging, low mass/power technologies to meet the full range of potential missions, including new autonomous flight control and collision avoidance strategies, structural improvemen ...

ATA Engineering, Inc. (ATA), partnered with a nonprofit research institution, CUBRC, Inc., (CUBRC), proposes a Phase II STTR project to further develop and continue validating a novel multiphysics simulation technology. The project team will implement the technology in a fluid-structure-material interaction (FSMI) software toolset that incorporates mutual interactions between aerodynamics and stru ...

This project addresses the U.S. Air Force needs for single-piece, electronically dimmable eye protection device (EDEPD). Toward demonstrating the proof-of-principle, InnoSense LLC (ISL) in Phase I developed and evaluated individual layer components and their stacked structures. ISL also demonstrated the fabrication processes for individual-layer components, stacked structures and the scale-up pote ...

The multidisciplinary area of GEOINT is changing and becoming more complex. A major driver of innovation in GEOINT collection and processing is artificial intelligence (AI). AI is being leveraged to help accomplish spatial analysis, change detection, and image or video triage tasks where filtering objects of interest from large volumes of data is critical. NGA is confronting the changing GEOINT l ...

This is an augmentation of a robotic installation Robin AFB GXMG has been using for over a decade. Each C-130 prop that needs grinding for remanufacture will no longer be treated exactly the same (since they are not). 3D sensing will adapt a grinding process to the exact blade geometry. Furthermore, if a prop need to be processed further (to remove pitting or scratches), the system will target onl ...