Award Data

Swarm robotics is one of the key enabling technologies for significantly extending mankind's reach beyond the Earth's surface. However, when bringing theory to practice, challenging problems related to the coordination and control of these swarms quickly arise. Vecna Robotics proposes a collaboration with MIT to extend existing autonomy behaviors and test platforms to address a class of pl ...

This Multiband Software Defined Radio (SDR) sensor system proposal will demonstrate the ability to operate within multiple frequency bands and across multiple technology platforms in a single transceiver. The center frequencies and bandwidths chosen are representative of current demonstrated commercial or research devices and bands used: 400 MHz, 900 MHz, and 2.4 GHz ISM bands, with bandwidths of ...

Sensatek Propulsion Technology, Inc. proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of a wireless, passive, nanoparticle-based sensor system. The sensor in its current form can be used to measure real time temperatures and pressures wirelessly without the need of an external energy source. It should be noted that the same sensing principle can be used for strain monitoring as well. It comprises of a micr ...

Reducing the allowable concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in spacecraft is a critical need for NASA. The system now used on the International Space Station (ISS) is the carbon dioxide removal assembly (CDRA). While it has performed well on the ISS, managers have concluded that using the device to reach the new ppCO2 limit of 2.0 mm Hg is not practical and a new method is needed.In this projec ...

NASA has been investigating morphing aircraft for multi-mission capabilities and performance improvements in existing fixed-wing aircraft. In addition, the design of aeroelastic aircraft that can control the structural flexibility to their advantage, is an open area of research and development. In spite of the plethora of work on morphing aircraft and long slender wings, the goal of fielding such ...

In response to NASA’s topic T12.02 of “Extensible Modeling of Metallurgical Additive Manufacturing Processes”, Sentient proposes to incorporate its DigitalClone technique to develop a multiscale and multiphysics computational modeling suite to predict comprehensive outcomes from AM building processes, including geometrical accuracy, and resulting microstructure and defects. Figure 1 shows th ...

This proposal includes, for the first time, integrated theoretical models and experimental investigations to simulate and demonstrate femtosecond-laser-fabricated waveguides in crystalline dielectric materials. The numerical models will predict refractive-index changes potentially induced by self-focusing, heat accumulation, thermal stress, plasma formation and relaxation, and ablation. The influe ...

Opterus Research and Development, Inc. proposes to develop and validate multi-scale thin-ply High Strain Composites (HSCs) constitutive modeling tools for incorporation into commercial finite element analysis codes. The constitutive models will capture the time-temperature-load-deformation viscoelastic characteristics common to HSCs as well as the yielding or permanent deformation associated with ...

The goal of the proposed Phase I work is to demonstrate the feasibility of the coordination and control of a low cardinality (n=12) swarm of smallsats that realizes a distributed Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in low Earth orbit. Preliminary mission and spacecraft design work has shown that the swarm can support SAR imaging in the L-band (1.35 GHz) with a ground range resolution finer than 10 m wi ...

This body of research focuses on developing fundamental engineering qualification methods for Thin-Ply High Strain Composites (TP-HSCs). Roccor will collaborate with NASA and Dr. Kwok of the University of Central Florida to develop and validate a robust framework for engineering the viscoelastic behavior of highly strained thin-ply composites. The material systems studied will be highly focused on ...