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Improved LADAR

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Navy
Contract: N68335-08-C-0496
Agency Tracking Number: N082-147-1002
Amount: $148,267.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N08-147
Solicitation Number: 2008.2
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2008
Award Year: 2008
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2008-09-12
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2010-01-15
Small Business Information
6767 Old Madison Pike Suite 410
Huntsville, AL 35806
United States
DUNS: N/A
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Stephen Granade
 Senior Scientist
 (256) 971-0036
 granade@aos-inc.com
Business Contact
 Kristina Parmenter
Title: Business Manager
Phone: (256) 971-0036
Email: contracts@aos-inc.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

Visually degraded environment (VDE) conditions pose a threat to Navy and Marine Corps helicopter by dramatically decreasing pilots’ situational awareness. Brownout and whiteout conditions are especially dangerous. Sensors such as laser radar (LADAR) imaging sensors can see through dust, snow and fog by gating past obscurants, but in order to provide the pilot with imagery that most closely resembles what is outside the aircraft, the spatial resolution, range accuracy, and fields of view of existing LADARs must be improved. We will address this by improving an already state-of-the-art real-time flash LADAR system built by Ball Aerospace. We will improve LADAR resolution by fusing its 3D information with 2D information from a high-resolution infrared or visual camera or from an obscurant-penetrating millimeter wave radar, producing resolution on the order of a megapixel visible camera. We will improve range resolution using variable offset delays and intelligent interpolation. We will improve the LADAR’s field of view using wide field-of-view optics and a non-inertial scanning system such as counter-rotating Risley prisms. Our improvements will be applied in real time and produce imagery comparable to what the pilot would see outside the helicopter.

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

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