Award Data

For effective protection against EMP and HPM threats, it is important to understand the physics of the threats, and also to quantify the effects they have on electrical systems. EMP and HPM vulnerability testing requires delivery of high peak power and electric fields to distant targets. The most practical solution to simulate such environments is to develop a modular, optically-isolated MV-antenn ...

We propose a novel computational framework for discrimination that incorporates sensor data from observations of the engagement and from kill assessment (KA) that such sensors can provide. The KA information is combined with data from other sensors to improve the discrimination decision and to reduce the probability of correlated shots. Approved for Public Release 16-MDA-8620 (1 April 16)

Missile defense faces the challenges of rapidly maturing and evolving complex threats, possessing capabilities which require the use of all available resources to successfully detect, track and identify the lethal objects. Future performance will rely on multiple sensors such as ground and sea based radars and electro-optical and infrared sensors for target recognition. It is crucial to develop a ...

Control Theory tools and processes for analyzing the interactions of complex System of Systems (SoS) are lacking, specifically when sub-systems are independently designed and/or higher levels of SoS controls are applied. Integrating these sub-systems into the SoS, can result in dynamic interactions between these sub-systems and the SoS controls resulting in unexpectedly large deviations between ex ...

In this research effort, GTD Unlimited will design tools for efficiently specifying, representing, and analyzing the interactions between control systems in System of Systems (SoS). Our approach will be to model the problem as an uncertain system and analyze the resulting models using control methods. Control methods can be related back to the standard Nyquist criterion for stability, ensuring t ...

A human produces more than 100 Watts of waste heat during normal activity. If a fraction of this heat energy can be harvested it can replace the stored chemical energy in one or more of the batteries typically carried by soldiers in the field. The current generation batteries, such as the BB2590 are bulky and rigid. The PowerFelt material developed by Wake Forest University is ideally suited for h ...

Laboratory investigations have suggested that acoustically or vibrationally inducing motion in buried targets can aid in improving target detectability through a characteristic response related to differential target motion. This gain is realized by adding an additional degree of freedom, modulation due to motion in the GPR return signal, to use as a discriminating feature. The AKELA team is propo ...

Next Dimension Technologies and Caltech will jointly develop a handheld detector to meet the Armys need for a field-based illicit drug identification system. The project will focus on the design and development of a dual-mode chemiresistive sensor array capable of detecting key drugs of interest, including synthetic cannabinoids and opioids. Novel sensing materials, with enhanced chemical sensit ...

Using advanced ion optics that was developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), BaySpec will develop a prototype of portable mass spectrometer (less than 40 lb. and 300W) with continuous atmospheric pressure inlet that is fully capable of uninterrupted on-line sampling from an ambient environment. The continuous nature of the inlet ensures full compatibility with separation technique ...

This Phase I STTR project will develop a platform to demonstrate high-quality, multi-modal acquisition of neurophysiological signals, including EEG, heart rate/blood oxygenation via photoplethysmography (PPG), electrodermal (EDA) activity, temperature plus environmental factors such as ambient light and sound in a simple, wearable headband. The hardware will be coupled with the development of a cl ...