| MesoScribe Technologies, Shared Spectrum Company, and Triton Systems are recognized in SBIR success stories | Three SBIR success stories have been posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the Innovation success story folder).
Global Positioning System (GPS) and communications capabilities aboard small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can derive substantial benefit from advances in aperture design and maturation of fabrication techniques. MesoScribe Technologies, Inc., located in St. James, New York, refined compact antenna designs for very high frequency (VHF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) communications and GPS bands, suitable for installation on a small UAV; the antenna serving the lower band fits conformally to the surface of the tail of a Dakota UAV, while the latter is embedded within the tail. Complementary to the antenna design work, MesoScribe refined the procedures for fabricating the antennas using its Direct Write Thermal Spray technique. In addition to the military realm, potential applications exist in the businesses of commercial aviation, wireless telephony, and homeland security. The AFRL Sensors Directorate manages this SBIR project.
The Air Force is faced with a potential spectrum scarcity problem due to the lack of unlicensed spectrum available to meet the increasing demand for more spectrum by the military, government, and commercial wireless industry. Cognitive Radio (CR) technology is a key enabler for a Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) solution to the potential spectrum scarcity problem because it enables a radio frequency system to sense and learn the spectrum environment in order to operate in unused portions of licensed spectrum or whitespaces on the condition that no interference is caused to licensed primary users. The SBIR technology developed by Shared Spectrum Company and Echo Ridge, LLC builds upon the CR concept and enables a RF system to operate in non-contiguous whitespaces, thus providing a more flexible DSA solution to the spectrum scarcity problem. The SBIR technology also provides a field-like DYnamic Spectrum environment Emulator for the RDT&E of DSA technologies. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Sensors Directorate.
The Air Force is in need of a rapid, on-site detection method for total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) in drinking water that will detect when the TTHMs are above the maximum contaminant level of 80 parts per billion (ppb), as specified by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. Triton Systems, located in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, developed an advanced micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based sensor prototype for detection of TTHMs in the water supply. A rapid response, real-time measurement of TTHM concentrations in the Air Force and other Department of Defense water systems could be vital to identifying contaminant “hot spots” and would allow system operators to implement immediate mitigation measures to prevent EPA violations. Triton’s targeted commercial market for its MEMS sensor platform is initially the defense, environmental, homeland security, and intelligence agencies. This SBIR project is managed by the Air Force Flight Test Center. | 2/14/2012 | View |
| SBIR success stories feature Agave BioSystems, Evigia Systems, GIRD Systems, and Technest | Four SBIR/STTR success stories have been posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the Innovation success story folder).
High trihalomethanes (THM) concentrations are associated with a number of health threats, including toxicological, carcinogenic, and mutagenic effects. Agave BioSystems, Inc., located in Ithaca, New York, developed a colorimetric total trihalomethanes (TTHM) detection system, using a modified Fujiwara reaction, which has been successfully integrated into a portable field instrument. This assay system elutes THMs filtered from a water sample and, through application of the modified Fujiwara reaction, yields a detectable spectral output that correlates directly to the TTHM levels of the water sample. The Agave BioSystems TTHM Detection system is highly marketable; the sensor has applications at numerous Department of Defense sites and at over 6,200 various public or private drinking water distribution systems nationwide, which disinfect potable water and monitor TTHM concentrations. The Air Force Flight Test Center manages this SBIR project.
The Air Force needed a navigation-grade Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)-based Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) which would significantly reduce size, weight, power, and cost and improve reliability compared to existing navigation-grade IMUs. Evigia Systems, Inc., located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, designed innovative prototype single-axis MEMS capacitive accelerometer and vibratory gyroscope pairs, which were fabricated together on a single-silicon chip. A robust high-yield manufacturing process was developed for fabrication of MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes atop of integrated circuits (ICs), leading to improved accuracy and inertial navigation capability as well as smaller size, weight, power, and cost; also, wafer-level micro-packaging technology for the MEMS sensors was developed and tested. This SBIR project is managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Sensors Directorate.
A variety of military missions share a critical need for detecting the direction of arrival (DOA) of unknown electronic emissions. GIRD Systems, Inc., located in Cincinnati, Ohio, developed a new algorithm that provides a wideband extension of the well-known MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm. This algorithm exploits some general signal characteristics to find the DOA of a signal source even when the source parameters are unknown. The algorithm was implemented in C++ on a host computer that is connected to a high-speed Agilent digitizing system. The host software configures the digitizer and reads the data once a snapshot of radio frequency (RF) data has been taken. This technology innovation has the potential to deliver high performance to a variety of missions requiring wideband DOA. The AFRL Sensors Directorate manages this SBIR project.
Small unmanned aerial systems may require non-mechanical camera stabilization systems to provide high stability while being lightweight. Technest, Inc., located in Bethesda, Maryland, developed a prototype called SpectralBird using a new sensor concept and novel components such as dual-zoom-stage camera, dual solid-state gyroscopes, and a lightweight fast-steering mirror (FSM). Technest successfully demonstrated the compact zoom optics of approximately 1.3 inches in diameter and only 4 inches in length; additionally, the contractor worked to develop a line-of-sight stabilization algorithm based on the FSM. The prototype developed in this SBIR project will help demonstrate the potential for non-mechanical line-of-sight stabilization in a compact package. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Sensors Directorate. | 1/4/2012 | View |
| 4th Quarter 2011 SBIR/STTR Advantage Newsletter | The 4th Quarter 2011 SBIR/STTR Advantage Newsletter is posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the SBIR/STTR Advantage folder).
The feature article highlights Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., and its SBIR project that resulted in improved pressure and temperature-sensitive paint. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) manages this SBIR project.
In the SBIR Perspectives section, Mr. David Robertson, Director of the Engineering & Technical Management Directorate at Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC), and other Center personnel provide information about OC-ALC's SBIR program. The SBIR Spotlight section focuses on SBIR projects involving Boulder Nonlinear Systems, Inc., and Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc. | 12/7/2011 | View |
| Brighton Technologies Group, Modus Operandi, NorthWest Research Associates, and Photon-X are highlighted in SBIR success stories | Four SBIR/STTR success stories have been posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the Innovation and Transition success story folders).
Brighton Technologies Group, Inc., located in Cincinnati, Ohio, produced a methodology and a tool (Surface Analyst™, or SA) originally intended for quality assurance inspection of adhesively bonded composites. The SA also works on metals, polymers, ceramics, and biological surfaces. The hand-held SA tool enables shop-floor technicians to determine readiness of material surfaces for adhesive bonding, painting, printing, and other operations where proper surface condition is critically important. Current industries and customers include: Automotive (Ford, IAC, Inteva, Plastic Omnium); Adhesives and films (3M); Aerospace (NASA, U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, U.S. Air Force, Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Bell Helicopter); and personal care (Proctor & Gamble). The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Materials & Manufacturing Directorate manages this SBIR project.
There is a need to develop a decision support capability using information integrated from structured and unstructured sources. Technology developed by Modus Operandi, Inc., located in Melbourne, Florida, under its Decision Explanation Engine Platform (DEEP) SBIR project semantically enriches information for decision support applications. The technology developed on the DEEP SBIR contract uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) and text analysis techniques to improve the information retrieval results from unstructured human intelligence data. In an extension to the DEEP Phase II SBIR contract, Modus Operandi integrated its technologies into the Web-based Threat HUMINT (HUMan INTelligence) Reporting Evaluation Analysis and Display System (WebTHREADS) to associate intelligence reports with user-defined case folders. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Information Directorate.
Small-scale variations in electron-density in the natural ionosphere can disturb propagating radar signals, with such irregularities potentially causing rapid variation in the amplitude, phase, and other signal properties, referred to as scintillation. NorthWest Research Associates, Inc., located in Monterey, California, developed signal processing techniques to mitigate the effects of the perturbed polar region ionosphere on radar classification functions for Air Force radar systems. The algorithms developed under this work are directly useful for application to the Thule, Greenland, Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR). The AFRL Sensors Directorate manages this SBIR project.
Layered sensing involves detecting, identifying, and tracking people and objects over large geographical areas in difficult imaging conditions. Photon-X, located in Huntsville, Alabama, uses its spatial phase imaging (SPI) technology which acquires high-resolution 3D video imagery in real time to image human activities; the SPI sensor captures high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) videos of activities, facial expressions, and behavioral cues. This capability provides powerful information that can be applied for the detection, identification, and tracking of dismounts, or analyzed for behavioral intent. Photon-X has the technology to capture 3D information, even when both the sensor and the target are in motion, and even when the target exhibits non-rigid deformation. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Sensors Directorate. | 12/4/2011 | View |
| Successful SBIR achievements by Decisive Analytics Corporation, Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated, Mustang Technology Group, SDL Language Weaver, and SET Corporation | Five SBIR/STTR success stories have been posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the Innovation and Transition success story folders).
Decisive Analytics Corporation, located in Arlington, Virginia, developed the Predictive Analysis Network Tool for Human knowledge Elicitation and Reasoning (PANTHER) to support learning, analysis, and sharing of probabilistic knowledge in the form of predictive models. PANTHER applies live data to the developed model allowing commanders, subject matter experts, and analysts to validate hypotheses, predict future behavior, and examine “what if” scenarios. PANTHER is being transitioned to the U.S, Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) as part of its computing environment as well as to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence (USAICoE) as part of its USAIC Tube system. The Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Information Directorate manages this SBIR project.
The Air Force required innovative technology to improve the computational predictions of solid rocket motor (SRM) performance. Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc. (ISSI), located in Dayton, Ohio, developed the Particle Shadow Velocimetry (PSV) system which utilizes low-power pulsed light emitting diodes (LEDs) and high speed cameras to measure the movement of particles in a combustion flow field. Phase I measurements of particle velocity and size at Pennsylvania State University were so successful that AFRL selected this PSV system for immediate Phase III development. ISSI’s PSV systems are capable of flow measurement in artificial cardiovascular devices, flow control, boundary layer and skin friction analysis, and aerodynamic analyses in micro UAV designs. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Propulsion Directorate (West), Edwards AFB, California.
Fuze requirements have evolved to the point of demanding precision programmable height of burst (HOB) capability over terrain obscured by combinations of foliage, structures, changes in ground contour, battlefield obscurants, and electromagnetic interference. Mustang Technology Group, L.P., located in Allen, Texas, demonstrated the use of an ultra High Frequency (UHF)/L/S-band wideband range-Doppler proximity sensor. Mustang’s Fuze Air-to-Surface Technology (FAST) offers many key system benefits, including programmable height of burst; ground profiling, even with heavy foliage; HOB, near surface burst, and penetrator operating modes; affordable design based on low-cost commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components; and nose mount and tail mount configurations that meet production cost goals. A commercial non-defense application exists in using the system as a low-cost altimeter to aid unplanned landings in urban environments. The AFRL Munitions Directorate manages this SBIR project.
Much of the information needed to effectively operate in the Global War on Terror, humanitarian relief, and coalition operations is found in foreign speech and text; however, there is a critical lack of linguists to translate these sources. SDL Language Weaver (formerly Language Weaver, Inc.), located in Los Angeles, California, produced data-efficient learning techniques that significantly reduce development costs for the construction of high-accuracy machine translation systems, particularly for translating from/into morphologically-rich, data-poor languages and domains. These technologies consist of the use of the SDL Language Weaver syntax-based machine translation (MT) approach; the construction of better, MT-effective dictionaries; the exploitation of smart, effective morphology analysis; and the integration of large-scale language models. The AFRL Human Effectiveness Directorate manages this SBIR project.
The Air Force needs to develop, test, and analyze signal processing and exploitation techniques for high-dimensional Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to build a foundation for improving its high-confidence combat identification capability. As part of a SBIR project, SET Corporation, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, investigated three distinct technologies: the Civilian Vehicle Radar Data Domes (CVDomes) challenge problem, sparse imaging, and combined SAR and Space Time Adaptive Processing (SAR/STAP) with data rate constraints. SET has a family of exploitation products for 3-D SAR resulting from the technology developed on this SBIR effort, with the initial product focused on military applications and consisting of real-time software for 3-D SAR recovery for the Gotcha Radar Exploitation Program (GREP). Associated with this first product will be follow-on products that provide assisted or automated target extraction, tracking, localization, and recognition. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Sensors Directorate.
| 11/18/2011 | View |
| Aptima, DataSoft Corporation, and Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated are featured in success stories | Three SBIR/STTR success stories have been posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the Innovation and Transition success story folders).
The Air Force has a requirement for innovative approaches to empirically determine, predict, or simulate the most relevant and influential cultural factors for a range of human behaviors and attitudes. Aptima, Inc., located in Woburn, Massachusetts, developed the Simulation of Cultural Identities for Prediction of Reactions (SCIPR) – an agent-based computer simulation that forecasts the effects of actions and events on peoples’ opinions and cultural identities. SCIPR is now being applied to operational domains. SCIPR was Aptima’s ground-breaking entry into the area of enhancing human performance in multi-cultural environments, and Aptima has since received multiple contracts and subcontracts in this emerging field. The AFRL Human Effectiveness Directorate manages this SBIR project.
The Air Force identified a need for an automated tool for collecting and analyzing over-the-air data in a Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) test environment. The Automatic Analysis of Datalink Transmissions (AADT) tool – developed by DataSoft Corporation, located in Scottsdale, Arizona – automates the collection and correlation of test data from multiple sources, including various platforms participating in disparate networks operating both new and legacy waveforms. The AADT tool may be configured to monitor the network performance of various types of commercial and military wireless networks, as well as to analyze routing and forwarding between Internet Protocol (IP)-based and Tactical Data Link (TDL) subnets through a gateway. This SBIR project is managed by the Air Force Flight Test Center.
The Air Force has a requirement for a paint formulation that provides simultaneous measurements of both pressure and temperature using a lifetime-based detection scheme for near real-time data presentation. Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated (ISSI), located in Dayton, Ohio, developed a light activated, dual-probe lifetime pressure- and temperature-sensitive paint as well as a high-power light emitting diode (LED) system for excitation of the probes. More than 40 of the high-power LED systems were transitioned to Arnold Engineering Development Center for use in its 16-foot transonic wind tunnel. These technologies are also currently in use by NASA, Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. universities, and aeronautical agencies abroad. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research manages this STTR project. | 10/4/2011 | View |
| SBIR success stories feature Adventium Enterprises, AgileDelta, CFD Research Corporation, and Defense Research Associates | Four SBIR success stories have been posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the Innovation and Transition success story folders).
Adventium Enterprises, LLC, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, developed technologies to allocate cyber defenses to huge networks while making sure that mission requirements are satisfied during deployment and operations. The Cybercraft Architecture Reasoner Inferring Network and Application Environments (CARINAE) technology provides bandwidth, memory, and computational performance assessments for large networks supporting diverse operational missions and defensive applications. This technology is applied in a Phase III SBIR application, an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory, to develop portable introspection and trust-based defenses for large operational networks. The AFRL Information Directorate manages this SBIR project.
The Department of Defense needs a way to bridge the interoperability and capability gaps between net-centric systems and tactical systems in order for information to flow rapidly and seamlessly between command centers, aircraft, and other systems and organizations. AgileDelta, located in Bellevue, Washington, developed a break-through data optimization technology, called Efficient XML™, which optimizes the bandwidth and resource utilization of net-centric data standards to levels far beyond those previously possible. AgileDelta has commercialized Efficient XML as a set of broad-based, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products used by both defense and commercial customers, including the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and several defense prime contractors. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Information Directorate.
The Air Force has a requirement for a small launch vehicle propulsion capability to provide responsive and affordable spacelift in Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) launch vehicles. CFD Research Corporation (CFDRC), located in Huntsville, Alabama, has demonstrated a hybrid turbojet/ rocket propulsion system referred to as the Air-Turbo-Rocket (ATR) that can meet this TSTO requirement. The ATR’s multiple performance advantages have been verified via a prior Pegasus launch vehicle study and a Nano-Satellite Launch Platform (NSLP) proof of concept analysis. CFDRC is now in a position to support future nano-satellite missions demanding TSTO operations with an ATR-powered first stage booster for multiple customers. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Propulsion Directorate (West), Edwards AFB, California.
Defense Research Associates, Inc., located in Beavercreek, Ohio, created a small and reliable platform known as the Vigilant Sensing System (VSS) that can be installed directly onto any power line world-wide. The research objective was to design and develop a camera/sensor platform that mounted directly onto any transmission distribution line for inductively harvesting enough power to support long-term deployments without the need for periodic maintenance or replacement of batteries. The technology supports the warfighter in urban environments as well as domestic law enforcement entities. The VSS has been sold to the University of Dayton Research Institute; the Greene County, Ohio, Sheriff; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The AFRL Sensors Directorate manages this SBIR project. | 9/2/2011 | View |
| Creare, DataSoft, and FIRST RF Corporation are recognized in SBIR success stories | Three SBIR success stories have been posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the Innovation success story folder).
Creare, Inc., located in Hanover, New Hampshire, developed a Hydraulic Pump Health and Usage Monitoring System (P-HUMS) to continuously monitor pumps and warn flight crews at the earliest onset of degradation. The P-HUMS provides classification of individual failure classes with greater than 90% confidence, and the ability to classify good versus bad pumps with greater than 99% accuracy. In all cases, these classifications were made while the pumps were operational and still had useful life remaining. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and the system was initially developed and demonstrated on aircraft hydraulic pumps in the AFRL/RX Pump Test Facility.
DataSoft Corporation, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, developed the Wideband Network Waveform Host Simulator (WHS). The primary purpose of the WHS is to provide a simulator that is used for system testing and evaluation as the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) and its component platforms, functions, and messages are developed. Using WHS, a JTRS radio is given the various electronic stimuli it needs to "think" it is in flight operation over a geographic area. The WHS reduces the risk to flight testing by ensuring the JTRS radio is ready for flight and is properly integrated with the host platform. This SBIR project is managed by the Air Force Flight Test Center.
FIRST RF Corporation, located in Boulder, Colorado, identified and implemented an effective method of reducing the size of the antenna aperture for Very High Frequency (VHF) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems. The FIRST RF method uses two antenna elements to form a beam while maintaining a high level of signal fidelity in the desired direction. During Phase II of this Air Force program, FIRST RF constructed a flight-worthy prototype of this system. The success of this SBIR project was further enhanced by the inter-directorate cooperation between the Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate (which manages the SBIR project) and the AFRL Sensors Directorate, as well as the active sponsorship of the Aeronautical Systems Center's Advanced Imagery Technology Branch.
| 8/6/2011 | View |
| 3rd Quarter 2011 SBIR/STTR Advantage Newsletter | The 3rd Quarter 2011 SBIR/STTR Advantage Newsletter is posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the SBIR/STTR Advantage folder).
The feature article highlights the innovative technology for buffet and dynamic loads analysis developed by CMSoft, Inc. The Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) manages this SBIR project.
In the SBIR Perspectives section, Mr. Thomas Berard, AFFTC Executive Director, and other Center personnel share their insights concerning AFFTC's SBIR program. The SBIR Spotlight section provides SBIR project highlights associated with Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.; Integrated Solutions, Inc.; and Polaris Sensor Technologies, Inc. | 7/9/2011 | View |
| SBIR successes by ATC-NY, Etegent Technologies, and Intelligent Automation | Three SBIR success stories have been posted to the Publications section of this web site (see the Innovation and Transition success story folders).
ATC-NY (formerly Odyssey Research Associates), located in Ithaca, New York, developed a low-cost, low-infrastructure product for investigating security breaches in live computers in enterprise networks. The OnLine Digital Forensic Suite (OnLineDFS) technology does not use pre-installed agents, making it ideal for use in network security environments where no additional infrastructure is desired. Moreover, OnLineDFS is easy to deploy, maintain, and use. This technology can be used by enterprise information technology security personnel and law enforcement agencies. The AFRL Information Directorate manages this SBIR project.
Key enabling synthetic signature technologies are required to support faster development of new target entries in signature databases. Etegent Technologies, Ltd. (formerly known as Sheet Dynamics, Ltd.), located in Cincinnati, Ohio, made primary contributions to the state of the art of signature database optimization in the areas of performance modeling and signature saliency. This technology is being used to support the automatic target recognition performance modeling task for a variety of exploitation applications within AFRL. The technology is also being funded internally as a research and development project to formalize performance model testing and evaluation for use in Air Force performance evaluation facilities. This SBIR project is managed by the AFRL Sensors Directorate.
The Air Force has a requirement for an advanced capability to rapidly generate custom scheduling engines for variations in operational requirements and tailored to particular users’ needs. Intelligent Automation, Inc., located in Rockville, Maryland, developed the Agent-based Generic Scheduling Engine Builder (GenSEB) tool, which uses autonomous agents to represent the resources and business rules of the domain and to “negotiate” solutions when new requests arrive or when operating conditions change. The agent-based and ontology-based methodology allows the quick customization of a scalable dynamic scheduler to any particular domain with minimum time and effort. The AFRL Information Directorate manages this SBIR project. | 7/2/2011 | View |
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