Award Data

A narrow-band microbolometric detector is proposed to the address need for a low-cost, portable system to perform chemical and biological threat detection. An approach is shown to achieve a narrow-band bolometric detector whose response can be tailored to both a desired peak wavelength and bandwidth. The approach will enable the design of an array of detectors meeting the requirements for chemical ...

This will facilitate the development of remedial approaches for existing facilities and assist in planning new facilities, logistics, and procedures to protect the environment without impairing critical mission functionality. The commercial application will include software distribution and updates.

The current produced in electrochemical galvanic cells is primarily dependent on the rate of the electrode reactions where the cell's anode is less negative, supplying less energy than thermodynamically predicted, and the cell's cathode is less positive, supplying less energy than thermodynamically predicted. Reduction of electrochemical overpotentials in electrochemical systems has been the prim ...

TRACLabs Inc. has worked with NASA to create indoor/outdoor, vision-based leader-following systems for sparse, extra-terrestrial environments. Brown University's Robotics Group has demonstrated leader-following and gesture recognition in high-traffic, dynamic, indoor environments using active lidar sensing. We propose to combine our technologies in order to create a passive sensing system that w ...

We will develop novel acousto-optic devices for use in the UV using the new material Barium Borate (BBO) which not only has the required UV transparency, but a unique combination of acoustic and optical properties. The capabilities provided by these new UV AO devices are ideally suited for optical addressing arrays of trapped ions with focused spots from appropriately tuned UV and visible lasers t ...

LADAR light reflection from a target is highly dependent of the spectral reflectivity and texture properties of the surface. Such dependencies could be exploited for target recognition based on surface characterization with appropriate imaging conditions and processing algorithms. Target surface light reflection is characterized by the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF), which ...

The Army has a clear need for a small unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) capable of autonomously accompanying a single soldier or vehicle. Such a UGV would help solve both logistical problems of soldiers needing to transport more equipment and supplies than they can carry in a backpack, and tactical problems of scouting unsafe areas. Multiple designs for such UGVs exist; however, they require active re ...

In this program, Omega Optics and the University of Texas at Austin propose to develop an on-chip surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrometer array for single molecule detection. The sensitivity of the SERS spectrometer comes from the 5-nm gap between gold nanowires, which can achieve 108 enhancement factor (EF) for the Raman scattering signals. Especially, these gold nanowires are preci ...

Development of a novel logistic fuel reformer that has excellent tolerance to sulfur and is resistant to coke formation is proposed. The reformer will produce a hydrogen-rich product that contains less than 1 ppm sulfur and is suitable for use with solid oxide fuel cells. Significant improvements in power density, startup time, durability, and cost relative to state of the art logistic fuel refo ...

Physical Sciences Inc. proposes an innovative, filter free approach to rapidly concentrate and detect bacterial spores from large volumes of flowing water for the purpose of early warning detection of contaminated potable water supplies against low concentration biological pathogens. Our approach builds on previous concentration work to study the feasibility of optimizing this approach and lays t ...