Award Data

Vacuum Process Engineering Inc. in collaboration with the UC Davis millimeter wave research group proposes to develop a large scale production process for nanocomposite scandate tungsten powder for advanced high current density and long life thermionic cathodes that have been previously demonstrated by UC Davis to be superior to the commercially available state-of-the-art. The produced cathodes de ...

The objective of the proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility of a generic package that provides high vacuum, temperature control and vibration isolation for a wide range of high performance (tactical and navigation grade) micromachined inertial sensors. Inertial sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) are now widely used in consumer and industrial applications. However, for high performance nav ...

This proposal describes an all optical fixed wing landing system for a aircraft carrier capable of flying an aircraft all the way to landing in a RF denied environment. The precision, reliability and accuracy of this system will allow control the aircraft without the help from the pilot all the way to touch down. It will work seamlessly with UAVs and manned aircraft that have been retrofitted with ...

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) offers a powerful technique for changing the surface properties of a material while maintaining the bulk properties. This allows one to create a new class of materials where one combines excellent bulk properties of lower cost materials, such as copper, with desirable surface properties of rare or expensive materials, such as tungsten, platinum, titanium, molybdenum, ...

This proposal is a collaborative effort between MRV Systems and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with additional support from RBR Global and Rockland Scientific. The goal is to develop a new, small, inexpensive autonomous vehicle to investigate mixed layer dynamics and turbulent mixing. The preliminary Phase I design, a Diagonally Operating Platform (DOP), is a profiling float with moveab ...

We propose development of a software capability which, based on use of MathSysaccurate and efficient exact-physics computational electromagnetics (CEM) solvers, will enable modeling and optimization of the properties of on-platform pRFID tag/reader antenna systems. Passive Radio Frequency Identification devices (pRFID) mounted on complex rotorcrafts pose challenging modeling problems: since pRFID ...

Arete Associates, in collaboration with the NanoRobotics Laboratory of Carnegie Mellon University, plans to design and demonstrate a desktop-sized assembly system utilizing a coordinated team of micro-robots. Called MECA-BOTS (Miniature Electromagnetically Controlled Assembler Robot Swarm), this system will be used to construct items and materials of interest to the Navy and the DoD. The micro-rob ...

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) hold the promise of dramatically increasing the cost effectiveness of training. However, one contributor to the per-lesson cost effectiveness of ITSs is the significant effort that goes into creating instructional material. ITSs in many ways shift the costs of giving instruction to the costs of preparing instruction. Preparation costs generally are quite high. I ...

M4 Engineering, Inc. and Sandia National Laboratories propose to create a unique bonded joint analysis and design software tool. Surrogate traction-separation models will be created that efficiently capture the behavior that occurs for real bonded joints. Mixed mode loading, including compressive normal tractions and relative displacements will be captured and used in an extended cohesive zone ele ...

Systems Technology, Inc. proposes to use and extend new technology from the University of Florida to enable real-time use of trajectory optimization to improve the guidance of autonomous air vehicles such as those used by the U. S. Navy. These range from missiles to UAVs. Specifically this work will involve enhancements, from the University of Florida, in hp-adaptive pseudospectral optimization. T ...