Award Data

AN IMPROVED METHOD OF WEIGHING TRUCKS WHILE IN MOTION IS PROPOSED. TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY AND REDUCE TIME LOST AT WEIGH STATIONS, THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEEDS TO EXCHANGE DATA, INCLUDING WEIGHT DATA, BETWEEN MOVING TRUCKS AND ENFORCEMENT FACILITIES. LEGALLY LOADED TRUCKS WOULD THEN BE ABLE TO PROCEED WITHOUT STOPPING. THIS INVOLVES WEIGH-IN-MOTION. PRESENT WEIGHING TECHNIQUES INVOLVE LOAD CELLS OR ...

MODELING ANBD SIMULATIONS ARE USED EXTENSIVELY IN THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF "BULK" EXPLOSIVES DETECTION DEVICES. HOWEVER, OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF THE INPUT MODEL, NAMELY LUGGAGE AND EXPLOSIVE CONTENTS, CAN LEAD TO POOR DETECTOR DESIGNS. MANUAL PRODUCTION OF SUCH INPUT IS COSTLY AND ERROR PRONE. THIS EFFORT WILL AUTOMATE THE PRODUCTION OF SIMULATED LUGGAGE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPUTER TOOL. ...

A RESEARCH EFFORT COMPLETED RECENTLY FOR THE AIR FORCE IDENTIFIED NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR ANGULAR MOTION MEASUREMENT. TWO CONCEPTS WERE FOUND WHICH APPEAR TO OFFER POTENTIAL FOR AN EXCELLENT COMBINATION OF SMALL SIZE, WIDE DYNAMIC RANGE, WIDE BANDWIDTH AND EASE OF FABRICATION AND UTILIZATION. ONE DEVICE, CALLED A FLUID-FILLED BENDER BEAM, USES PIEZOCERAMICELEMENTS TO PRODUCE A SIGNAL PROPORTIONAL TO ...

THE GOVERNMENT HAS INITIATED A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE U.S. LAUNCH VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY. THESE PROGRAMS ARE CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON MEETING GOVERNMENT LAUNCH REQUIREMENTS. IF THESE PROGRAMS ARE ALSO TO BENEFIT THE COMMERCIAL LAUNCH INDUSTRY, COMMERCIAL REQUIREMENTS MUST BE INTEGRATED INTO THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT. THIS PROJECT WILL ASSESS THE COMMERCIAL APPLICABILITY OF GOVERNM ...

INDUCTIVE LOOPS HAVE BEEN USED IN RAODWAYS FOR VEHICLE SURVEILLANCE AND TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS SINCE THE LATE 1960'S. THESE EARLY SYSTEMS WERE PLAGUED WITH DRIFT AND ENVIRNMENTAL CHANGE PROBLEMS WHICH RESULTED IN UNRELIABLE OPERATION AND FREQUENT MAINTENANCE. MODERN LOOP SYSTEMS, AFTER TWO DECADES OF IMPROVEMENTS, HAVE BECOME HIGHLY DEPENDABLE AND REMAIN VIRTUALLY TROUBLE-FREE AFTER YEARS OF SERV ...

THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE TYPE OF PRECIPITATION (RAIN, SNOW, FOG/HAZE, HAIL) HAS TRACTIONALLY RELIED ON HUMAN JUDGMENT. RECENTLY, THE WAVE PROPAGATION LABORATORY OF DEVELOPED A TECHNOLOGY FOR AUTOMATIC WEATHER IDENTIFICATION USING LASER SCINTILLATION AND SCATTERING. THE TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY TESTED IN FIELD OPERATION. HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM IS TOO CLUMSY AND EXPENSIVE FOR LARGE-SCALE FIELD ...

FIBER MATERIALS, INC. (FMI) PROPOSES SENSORS WHICH CAN BE EMBEDDED IN PAVEMENT TO MEASURE STRESS AND STRAIN FROM TRUCKS PASSING OVER AT SPEEDS UP TO 60 MPH. THESE SIMPLE, DURABLE SENSORS WILL BE MADE FROM PIEZOELECTRIC COMPOSITES WHICH ACT AS PASSIVE SENSORS AND DEVELOP A CHARGE PROPORTIONAL TO THE APPLIED PRESSURE. THE CHARGE IS CONVERTED TO A VOLTAGE WHICH IS RECORDED ON NEARBY EQUIPMENT. THE PH ...

THE MEASUREMENT OF THE RETROREFLECTIVITY OF PAVEMENT MARKINGS OR TRAFFIC STRIPING HAS BEEN LIMITED BY THE INSTRUMENTATION AT PRESENT. THE MAJORITY OF THESE INSTRU- MENTS ARE HAND-HELD PORTABLE UNITS WITH LIMITED GEOMETRY ANDNEASUREMENT AREA. MOBLE UNITS BUILT BY SOME STATES ALSO ARE LIMITED IN THEIR PERFORMANCE BY STRAY LIGHT, NON-OPTIMUM GEOMETRY AND OTHER PROBLEMS. A NEW RETROREFLECTOMETER IS PR ...

PRESENT TRAIN DETECTION SCHEMES RELY LARGELY ON A LOW RESISTANCE THROUGH THE TRAIN'S WHEELS TO PERTURBATE A STABLE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT. WHILE ELEGANT IN PRINCIPLE, THE DESIGN IS PLAGUED BY OXIDE FILMS AND MATERIAL BUILDUP ON THE RAIL, SNEAK PATHS THROUGH THE BALLAST AND OTHER UNCONTROLLABLE VARIABLES. KVH INDUSTRIES PROPOSES TO DESIGN AND DELIVER A "SMART MAGNETOMETER"-BASED SENSOR PACKAGE WHICH WI ...

THE PROPOSED METHOD OF DETECTION OF CONCEALED WEAPONS IS SPECIFICALLY DIRECTED TOWARD NONMETALLIC WEAPONS (HANDGUNS AND EXPLOSIVES) CARRIED UNDER THE CLOTHING OF PEOPLE. THE METHOD IS PROPRIETARY, BUT IT CAN BE SAID HERE THAT IT IS NONCONTACTING AND NONOBTRUSIVE. THE SEARCH MAY TAKE PLACE WITH THE SUBJECT NOT BEING AWARE OF THE ACTION OF THE SENSOR. THE SENSOR IS PASSIVE AND DOES NOT MAKE USE OF A ...