Award Data

In the near future unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will be utilized for many societal and commercial applications. However, the hurdle of operation safety in the form of avoiding airborne collisions must first be overcome. UAVradars LLC is proposing a small, lightweight, and low-power radar system designed specifically to give small UAS (< 55 lbs) airborne collision-avoidance sensory capability. ...

A 32x32-channel multiplexing Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) driver, which can hold a voltage signal with a 16-bit resolution or beyond, is proposed. Such a driver will greatly reduce the operation power, and are compact and reliable. When the ASIC driver is vertically integrated with a Deformable Mirror (DM), the potential wiring failure will be eliminated. Furthermore, radiation r ...

ADS-B is emerging as the defacto standard for manned aircraft in the context of NextGen ATM. There are several advantages to ADS-B, but most ADS-B gear was developed for manned aircraft, and some smaller versions have been developed for UAVs recently. However, even the smallest currently-available ADS-B transponder is still about 250g, which is not suitable for small UAVs, such as those becoming p ...

A hardware/software solution for autonomous reporting of flight operations of a UAS is proposed. Such a system would enable the UAS to report identity, position, and other information to local human and autonomous traffic and air traffic controllers in an autonomous manner, in legacy terminology. This will improve the overall safety of UAS operations, and lead to easier integration of UASs into th ...

This Phase I project is to investigate the feasibility for achieving EUV detectors for space applications by exploiting the ultrahigh bandgap semiconductor - AlN. We plan to devise methods to improve the AlN epitaxial material quality and device structures for EUV detectors. Specifically, we will study the properties of Si and Mg doped AlN epilayers and investigate n- and p-type doping issues in ...

The many different generations of integrated circuit (IC) technologies required for new space exploration systems demand designs operate at multiple and often incompatible voltages. Extended utilization of current and development of new space exploration systems require multiple voltage levels be successfully integrated to interface technologies. NASA's micro-satellites and space exploration mis ...

A method and device for situational awareness for unmanned air vehicles is presented. This enables integration of UAVs into the national airspace in a safe manner, equivalent to the level of safety of manned aircraft. Phase I results are presented and discussed. Phase II plans are discussed in detail. The Phase II will culminate in flight tests of the proposed gear. Alignment with national initiat ...

The need for aerodynamics-based efficiency enhancements for air vehicles is presented. The results of the Phase I investigation of concepts for morphing aircraft are discussed. Morphing enables the aircraft to optimize its configuration for various flight regimes. This translates to benefits in range, endurance, manueuvering and speed characteristics of the air vehicle. Using simulations, live tes ...

Diagnostic and prognostic algorithms for many aircraft subsystems are steadily maturing. Unfortunately there is little experience integrating these technologies into a complete and practical on-board prognosis system, and integration often proceeds in an ad-hoc manner. Sentient Corporation proposes to develop a general-purpose architecture and set of reusable algorithms for integrating diagnostics ...