Award Data

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere are primary drivers of global climate change and hence there is a crucial need to quantify their sources and sinks. A general technique to constrain source and sink strengths is the analysis of the relative proportions of isotopic variants of GHG's. These measurements must be performed with extremely high precision. The gold standard technique, i ...

There are currently no inexpensive observing systems that detect temperature, salinity and currents under the ocean's surface - all important factors in predicting the intensity of hurricanes. Boston Engineering proposes to develop the Multi-Purpose Above Surface/Below Surface Expendable Dropsondes (MASED). Our design builds on the highly successful air dropsondes already in use, combined with a ...

Multiple major pipeline failures have been caused by seam weld defects not detected by available ILI technology [August 16, 2013 WSJ]. Phase I will demonstrate a game changing capability to deliver internal and external corrosion mapping and seam weld crack detection in a low-cost tool that “encourages more repetitive ILI runs and wider use.” JENTEK’s new through wall imaging method called S ...

What is needed is a lightweight system that can be deployed and used by one person that will measure and compile the track geometry data and compute the MCO for a rail section in real time without reliance on any external reference. Such a device, the Mid-chord Rail Offset Measurement System (McROMS) is the subject of this proposal. But MCO is not the only rail geometry data of interest. If this s ...

Trenchless excavation methods, such as horizontal directional drilling (HDD) operations, offer the potential for significant cost savings on many utility relocation projects; however, these methods require extremely accurate drill head navigation in addition to precise knowledge of existing utility location in order to ensure boring operations do not interfere with existing pipelines or conduits. ...

To assist with the National Geodetic Survey’s federal mandate to provide accurate positioning—including heights—to all federal non-military mapping activities in the USA, Aurora Flight Sciences proposes to integrate a gravimetry payload on a unmanned aerial system (UAS). Potential options include using either an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or an optionally piloted aircraft (OPA). An OPA ...

Substantial simulation work has been done showing that traffic shock-waves can be reduced or eliminated through "cooperative adaptive cruise control" and "communicating cruise control" where following vehicles are warned that leading vehicles are slowing in time to react. To be effective, however, such devices must be installed and operate in the majority of vehicles in the queue. Even if mandat ...

While mechanical damage to pipelines is a common occurrence, the impact of mechanical damage on pipeline remaining life is not easily determined. The mechanical damage features, such as residual stresses and stress concetrations, will determine the effect of the damage on pipeline remaining life. Empirical relationships between damage features and burst pressure have been developed and adopted i ...

Automated vehicle counting technology has been in use for many years, but developments in automated pedestrian counting technology have been limited. Pedestrians are more difficult to detect, track and count, than motor vehicles because their paths are much less constrained. In Phae I, we propose to develop a new system for pedestrian detection, tracking and counting. In this system, both IR LE ...

Cities must perform detailed assessments of sidewalks and streets, including curb ramps, pedestrian signals, crosswalks, street furniture, and other components to determine compliance with the Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines. However, current assessment methods are inadequate or unreasonable due to time and resources required. The objectives of this project are to: 1) develop elect ...