Award Data

Individual differences in vulnerability to sleep loss and fatigue from extended work hours and night work are a substantial problem in transportation work schedule development, fatigue risk management strategies, and prediction of performance impairment in real-world operations. This project will deliver an individualized Fatigue Management Program (FMP) technology for trucking operations that in ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project aims to develop a wearable computer system with an innovative multimodal input mechanism. The objective of this research is to assess the feasibility, efficiency, and quality of documentation performed with a wearable computer utilizing speech recognition against the current methods of laptop input and paper notation. To measure the ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of designing engineered mesoporous zirconia films for intermediate temperature (600ýýC) solid-oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs) with the aim of extending the basic and practical knowledge of synthesis as well as electronic behavior of mesoporous films, while at the same time producing materials that have a direct ...

This SBIR Phase I research proposal will develop nano-porous carbide-derived carbon electrodes for improved super-capacitor performance. The high power charge/discharge rate of current super-capacitors is offset by a low storage capacity compared to batteries. The capacitance of activated carbon super-capacitor electrodes is partially limited by the large diameter and wide size distribution of por ...

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will involve the development of a noninvasive intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor based on a pilot clinical study correlating ocular blood pressure and blood flow parameters to ICP. The proposed novel device will combine several standard medical ...

INVESTIGATORS ARE DEVELOPING MONOLITHICALLY INTEGRATED BICOLOR EDGE EMITTER-DETECTOR PAIRS FOR WAVELENGTH-DIVISION MULTIPLEXING IN FIBER OPTIC COMMUNICATIONS. THIS DEVICE UTILIZES LATERALLY GRADED A1XGA1-XAS LAYERS FORMED BY LIQUID PHASE EPITAXIAL DEPOSITION ONTO A CONTINUOUSLY MOVING SUBSTRATE. MULTIPLE LIGHT EMITTING DIODES AND DETECTORS CAN BE COLINEARLY INTEGRATED IN THE SAME DEVICE TO EMIT/ ...

THERMOSET POLYMER COMPOSITES HAVE BEEN USED AS BUILDING MATERIALS FOR MANY YEARS AND ARE SUCCESSFULLY USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MARINE VESSELS, AIRCRAFT, BUILDINGS, AND SPACE VEHICLES. PULTRUSION IS ONE WELL-KNOWN PROCESS THAT IS USED THROUGHOUT INDUSTRY TO MANUFACTURE COMPOSITES. COMPOSITES CAN BE REINFORCED WITH FIBERGLASS, CARBON, OR OTHER FIBERS TO CREATE HIGH STRENGTH, LIGHT WEIGHT, AND D ...

COMPUTERIZATION OF WORK, PARTICULARLY INFORMATION-BASED WORK WHICH HAS BEEN TRADITIONALLY PERFORMED BY MANUAL METHODS, HAS CREATED MANY PROBLEMS FOR NEW COMPUTER USERS. AS COMPUTER SYSTEMS GROW MORE COMPLEX, THEIR HUMAN USERS HAVE INCREASING DIFFICULTY IN SUCCESSFULLY OR EFFICIENTLY APPLYING THE UNDERLYING SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY. RESEARCH HAS BEGUN TO FOCUS ON USING THE HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERFACE TO ...

THE INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS (FMS) ARE PUSHING THE HUMAN OPERATOR TO HIS LIMITS, ESPECIALLY IN COGNITIVE-RELATED TASKS. IT IS, THEREFORE, OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE TO DEVELOP TECHNIQUES THAT ALLOW THE COMPUTER TO HELP THE HUMAN TO EXTEND THESE LIMITS. AN IMPORTANT CLASS OF SUCH ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES IS AN INTERACTIVE MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE (IMMI); WHICH INTELLIGENTLY ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to investigate an innovative structure for improving the efficiency of amorphous silicon based solar cells. Amorphous silicon has a short minority carrier diffusion length and the innovative structure reduces the distance necessary to collect photogenerated electrons. Increasing the efficiency of solar cells can significantly reduce the ...