Award Data

Navy ships have many cameras for situational awareness, but they produce more video than humans can effectively review, and the gap is widening. Currently, all video is recorded, but the sparse relevant data (e.g., showing interesting targets or conditions) is practically impossible to find among the rest. This lost data compromises decision-making and delays machine learning and autonomy efforts. ...

Military training often occurs in high temperature environments, with Warfighters having to bear heavy loads over lengthy time periods, and while wearing extensive gear (e.g., full uniforms, body armor, helmets, rucksacks) that can impose significant heat strain. Although the Heat Illness Prevention System (HIPS) has been successful with early detection of and intervention for excessive heat strai ...

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop a high-efficiency metasurface-based free-space orbital angular momentum transformer that can be fiber pigtailed at both the inputs and output to operate across the shortwave infrared band from 1 to 2 microns. The transformer will be designed to simultaneously minimize losses and maximize environmental stability.

As the Navy seeks to deploy neural networks for perception and control capabilities in autonomous systems, they must ensure networks behave predictably and reliably. Researchers have responded to this need by producing a proliferation of methods for formally verifying properties of neural networks. However, applying these methods is a challenge, as methods vary in their applicability to different ...

Electronic Warfare (EW) is a critical component in conflicts around the globe. High Power Microwave applications need greater power and efficiency and wider bandwidth. Solid state technology is very capable and increased power by combining many devices improves overall performance. Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI) proposes to develop a wideband solid state power amplifier combining topology wh ...

Radio frequency (RF) systems are a key enabler of multi-domain mesh networked capabilities in the battlefield of the 21st century. As attritable and expendable unmanned platforms become more common, cost is becoming a larger constraining factor in system specifications. Current high-performance RF systems such as phased arrays meet mission requirements but are costly and consume significant power. ...

The Navy seeks to develop compact and energy efficient technologies to reduce the latent loads of outside air entering the ship during the summer while providing heat during the winter. This is similar to needs in building technology that are often addressed by using rotary desiccant wheels for dehumidification and by enthalpy wheels for preheating fresh makeup air in the winter. Removing water va ...

The Navy requires fast, frequency-agile, stimuli-responsive and tunable micromirror surfaces to keep focal plane array (FPA) MWIR irradiance levels below the damage threshold without losing track of the MWIR target. PSI proposes a Cooperative Optically Responsive MWIR Filter (CORE-MF) that simultaneously achieves requirements for fast autonomous actuation, rapid recovery time, and long-term endura ...

Diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPAL) offer the potential for scaling to high output powers required for directed energy weapons systems. As power-scaling studies have progressed, increasing concern has emerged about uncertainty in the roles of higher-lying states and the degree of ionization, and their effects on device performance. Ionization by multi-photon absorption and collisional energy pooling ...

Physical Sciences Inc (PSI), in cooperation with the University of Rhode Island (URI), will develop a Velocimetric Flash LiDAR (VFL) for Underwater Autonomous Vehicles (UAV).  The VFL will combine (and extend) two capabilities previously developed and demonstrated at PSI: an underwater flash lidar (UWFL) and an expendable seawater optical attenuation meter (K-meter).  K-meter mode is a high spee ...