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Theory and Application of Foveated Acquisition and Tracking (TAFAT)

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Air Force
Contract: FA8651-08-C-0156
Agency Tracking Number: F071-155-0485
Amount: $745,131.00
Phase: Phase II
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: AF071-155
Solicitation Number: 2007.1
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2007
Award Year: 2008
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2008-10-02
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2010-12-02
Small Business Information
4515 Seton Center Parkway Suite 320
Austin, TX 78759
United States
DUNS: 158034665
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: Yes
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Thayne Coffman
 Principal Scientist
 (512) 342-0010
 tcoffman@21technologies.com
Business Contact
 Todd Spears
Title: Program Manager
Phone: (512) 342-0010
Email: SBIR_ADMIN@21technologies.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

Foveated imagery is ubiquitous in nature, and foveating sensors offer the potential for superior performance in artificial vision systems. However, technical and user acceptance barriers caused in part by a lack of mature theory currently hinder the exploitation of foveated imagery on the battlefield. Our TAFAT Phase 1 experiments conclusively demonstrated that under reasonable assumptions and with advances in theory, foveated systems can consistently outperform uniform-resolution systems in multi-target acquisition and tracking. TAFAT Phase 2 builds on these successes to mature the theory and algorithms that let foveated sensors outperform uniform-resolution sensors. We will mature our methodology for quantifying the relative performance of foveated and uniform-resolution systems, and we will deliver a reusable evaluation framework with which AFRL can evaluate foveated exploitation approaches developed long after TAFAT. We will use our new theoretical developments to develop robust and flexible foveated acquisition, tracking, and recognition algorithms. We emphasize adaptive foveation techniques that automatically tune foveation characteristics to optimize acquisition and tracking, given current target and background characteristics. TAFAT enables the development of high-performance foveated targeting systems by jointly addressing theoretic and practical barriers. TAFAT leverages 21st Century’s specific experience and the internationally recognized expertise of our consultant, Professor Alan C. Bovik.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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