Award Data

The goal of this program is to design a lightweight optical bench capable of remaining stable under temperature and moisture changes, while isolating the precision optical array from vibrations such as engine noise and air turbulence. By integrating a customizable periodic stack in the bench, vibrations are attenuated more effectively than commercially available mounts. Additionally, the periodic ...

We propose a novel computational framework for discrimination that incorporates sensor data from observations of the engagement and from kill assessment (KA) that such sensors can provide. The KA information is combined with data from other sensors to improve the discrimination decision and to reduce the probability of correlated shots. Approved for Public Release 16-MDA-8620 (1 April 16)

Combining information from disparate sensors can lead to better situational awareness and improved inference performance; unfortunately, traditional multi-sensor fusion cannot capture complex dependencies among different objects in a scene, nor can it exploit context to further boost performance. Integrating context information within a fusion architecture to reason cohesively about scenes of inte ...

Missile defense faces the challenges of rapidly maturing and evolving complex threats, possessing capabilities which require the use of all available resources to successfully detect, track and identify the lethal objects. Future performance will rely on multiple sensors such as ground and sea based radars and electro-optical and infrared sensors for target recognition. It is crucial to develop a ...

Our proposed second order uncertainty (SOU) product is a decision making software solution that addresses the problem of providing accurate and precisely defined decision courses of action (COAs) of complex, time-constrained problems in a fraction of the time required by alternative methods striving to achieve the same level of precision. Complex decision situations can deal with large volume of ...

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to design, develop, and demonstrate a portable, non-invasive, real-time sensor to assess the chemical and physical health of solid rocket motors as a function of age without affecting the motors integrity nor having direct contact with the propellant. In Phase II, a sensor to monitor specific gas species that are markers of the chemical and mechanical aging pr ...

Aerius Photonics is proposing to develop high-power Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and arrays on 4” substrates with an integrated thermal management approach to improve the thermal performance on an entirely wafer-level manufacturing compatible process. This is critical as waste heat and wafer-scale manufacturing approaches are driving factors for performance and costs in a la ...

The expected life of satellite Li-Ion batteries is determined by many factors, including thermal considerations, electrode chemistries, orbit and mission life, DOD, and pulse power requirements. First-principles battery model literature pertains primarily to orbital cycling at moderate DOD under isothermal conditions without variable power loads. Knowledge must be extended to encompass wider life ...

Inlustra Technologies and the University of Notre Dame propose a Phase I STTR program that, combined with a subsequent Phase II effort, will result in methods for the scalable production of semi-insulating non-polar GaN substrates. These substrates will be utilized in the fabrication of high-power/high-frequency AlGaN-GaN electronic devices capable of reliable operation under high thermal load. ...

Gyroscopes are found in nearly every airplane, many cars, robots, missiles, and more. The reason for such broad, wide-spread use is simple: gyroscopes are excellent tools for determining rotation, and can be quite sensitive. Improving the sensitivity of optical gyroscopes while also reducing their size and weight has proven to be a significant challenge. To provide a solution, Los Gatos Researc ...