Award Data

Fibertek, Inc. in partnership with researchers at the Pennsylvania State University Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D) are proposing to develop a state of the art, space-qualifiable laser transmitter that meets the requirements of the flash lidar transmitter defined in the 2016 STTR subtopic T9.01, Navigation and Hazard Avoidance Sensor Technolog ...

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), in collaboration Purdue University, proposes to develop a novel launch propulsion technology for rapid insertion of nano/micro satellites (~ 5-100 kg scale) into low earth orbit, with the potential to lower the current state-of-the-art launch stage cost by 2X. The technology employs a propulsion scheme comprising a storable liquid oxidizer and a unique solid fuel with ...

Inflatable pressurized habitats are envisioned as a practical way to build shelters much larger than landing craft for astronauts and their scientific operations on Mars, the moon and elsewhere. These habitats maintain their inflated shape via high-strength Vectran webbing. The piezoresistive extensometers developed through this STTR program can be directly integrated into or onto Vectran webbing ...

This two-phase SBIR program targets the need for highly integrated SiC-based electronics systems by developing gate drive circuitry that can be fully integrated with 4H-SiC power switching devices, enabling eventual realization of a monolithic power switching platform. Specifically, the final goal of this program is to develop and demonstrate a fully integrated, isolated gate driver architecture, ...

Current state-of-the-art navigation systems incorporate optical gyroscopes and optical accelerometers as inertial sensors. These devices contain no moving parts and can sense rotations and accelerations with high bandwidth. However, there is a fundamental tradeoff between the size of an optical gyroscope and its sensitivity. Highly sensitive gyroscopes are needed to meet navigation goals, but Size ...

The DSOM system realized in a Phase II effort will provide a modular, compact and reconfigurable system with the ability to provide unique and new information about the scene of interest (e.g. temporal and height information) when compared with traditional SAR sensors. When compared with other imaging technologies, DSOM has the important advantages of being operable through cloud cover and at nigh ...

This project continues our development of innovative systems for farming macroalgae on the high seas. We will identify suitable sites in Nantucket Sound to demonstrate our system and determine the associated environmental parameters including depths, currents, and waves. By combining that information with load and acceleration data from our Phase I wave-basin tests, we will refine the structural d ...

R3 Digital Sciences (R3-DS) will develop and commercialize the Fish Trap Extension Kit (FTEK), and electromechanical device that will extend the capabilities of existing fish traps, and convert them from indiscriminate traps into “smart traps” capable of targeting specific fish types. To eliminate lionfish bycatch, the FTEK will enable existing commercial spiny lobster traps to autonomously de ...

This program is aimed at the development of a deployable sensor for direct measurement of carbonate ions in saline waters with a sensitivity of 5 μM. The sensor combines the selectivity of carbonate ionophore with the unique structure of a carbon nanotube array to achieve a large dynamic range, high specificity and sensitivity. Phase I was focused on demonstrating the proof-of-principle concept f ...

This SBIR will support rover locomotion and manipulation with a system of newly-developed penny-sized 70-W brushless servomotor controllers that are networked on a bus-topology (CANopen DS-402 protocol). Each "P3" controller is small enough to be mounted in the tiny volume normally reserved for the encoder; and, indeed, each P3 carries the entire active electronics of the encoder function by measu ...