Award Data

Although global pose is essential for success in certain vehicle missions and tasks, when GPS is denied there is no single technology (source) that can robustly estimate global pose without suffering from one or more failure modes. We propose to design an architecture that provides robustness by integrating automated celestial navigation, registering on-board sensor data to a map (map registration ...

Army defense technologies for high speed, lethal threat intercept increasingly rely on high maneuverability of the kill vehicle through both aerodynamic and thrust augmentation while the threats themselves have relied on equally increasing maneuvering defenses to avoid intercept. Because it is in the interest of defense systems to target the threat as early as possible, intercept locations in high ...

Computer-based training has primarily focused on the acquisition and application of procedural knowledge, emphasizing development of skilled performance of tasks. In many important Naval roles, however, the ability to apply more general concept to specific novel problems is even more important than procedural skills. Sonar operators, who must reason about acoustic oceanography and sensor/s ...

The Acoustically Synchronized Store Ejection/Release Technology (ASSERT) test process was developed by CRAFT Tech. This research has produced a capability to conduct small scale dynamic drop tests instrumented with stereo-photogrammetry to track store motion and synchronize this with unsteady weapons bay flowfield measurements. An advanced pneumatic ejection system has been developed which support ...

As underwater threats continue to evolve, active sonar systems and operators must evolve with them, requiring improvements to sources, receivers, signal processing algorithms, and search mission planning applications in order to maintain and improve detection rates. Any improvements in the latter requires a detailed and accurate understanding of the acoustic underwater environment, and the underly ...

Development of air vehicles capable of routine operation and able to achieve hypersonic speeds is paced by the availability of a propulsion system. The vision is to combine improved off-the-shelf turbines for low-speed operation (M=0 to 2+) and dual-mode ramjet (DMSJ) engine technologies for high-speed operation (M=2+ to 5+), with both engines sharing a common air inlet and a common thrust produci ...

Diesel engines are widely used in military and commercial vehicles, as well as some light duty vehicles. The compression ratio is a compromise between power, economy, and cold startability. The optimum ratio for economy is below 15:1, whereas the necessary compression ratio for cold starting ranges from 16 to 22:1 depending on the specific engine design. This is too high for best economy and optim ...

The revolution in simulation technologies for training is enabling learners to practice and learn in realistic environments. Researchers are developing algorithms that can tailor learner practice to the estimated abilities and needs of individuals, offeri

The objective of this program is to develop an adaptive lumbar support and alignment system that will serve to reduce spinal injuries to the lower spinal column for aircrew members involved in aircraft ejections or high impact helicopter crashes. Fractures of the lower thoracic and upper lumbar vertebra are identified as the most dominant major type of injury that occurs during the high accelerati ...

Dense maritime environments pose significant challenges to naval airborne maritime sensor systems with respect to surface target classification because surface vessels of interest must often be separated from a larger number of similar looking surface vessels with non-threatening intent. Perhaps the most difficult classification challenge arises in vessels that are inherently similar in nature and ...