Army 14. 1 Small Business Innovation Research (sbir) Proposal Submission Instructions
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TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Electronics ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation OBJECTIVE: Develop a low cost sensor that can accurately measure angular rate and position of a weapon system in all Six Degrees Of Freedom (6DOF) which is ultra low power, capable of determining absolute heading, however, requiring no in initial or sustainment calibration; for the purposes of Live and Virtual Non Line-of-Sight (NLOS) and Direct Fire tactical engagement simulation. DESCRIPTION: Many weapons systems and future concepts cannot be simulated using current line-of-sight laser-based systems, e.g. Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES), in Live training exercises. Additionally, the Army has identified a Virtual small arms weapon training capability gap, using actual weapons in lieu of simulated weapons. There are many existing sensors on the commercial market that meet some of the Army’s requirements but not all of them. Typically, Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) sensor modules use both gyros and magnetometers to measure the pointing vector of the weapon system, however these sensors have many error sources that substantially reduce the reliability and accuracy of the engagement which results in unrealistic or negative training. Current Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology has provided system on chip capabilities for measuring 6 DOF orientation, however, due to poor signal-to-noise ratios and their sensitivity to temperature changes, accuracy is sacrificed and has proven insufficient to meet the Army’s technology gap. Current high-end, tactical grade Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) provide the needed accuracy and environmental robustness, but remain unsuitable due to extraordinarily large size, power consumption and unit cost. We are seeking an innovative approach to precisely measure 6 DOF orientation, but in a low cost and low power form factor. It must be capable of measuring absolute heading (geodetic north) with an accuracy of 3 mils. The approach must be capable of measuring orientation in all environmental conditions where soldiers can operate. The device must operate while undergoing a slew rate of 60° per second (threshold metric) and a slew rate of 300° per second (objective metric). Additionally, the sensor and its associated processing electronics shall be enclosed in a package no greater than 1 inch wide by 1 inch high by 4 inches long while assuming that power will be provided externally to the sensor, but also assuming that it is very scarce. The sensor should require no initial, nor maintenance calibration. We are also seeking a solution which is low cost, at a production cost of less than $2000 per unit. PHASE I: Validate viability of the technical approach through simulation or mathematical model. PHASE II: Develop an initial breadboard prototype (TRL4 - Component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment) and develop an advanced prototype (TRL6 - System/subsystem model or prototype demonstration in a relevant environment) with transition customer collaboration with respect to requirements, design review, and prototype test and evaluation. System must be capable of being mounted on actual weapon systems and used in the Live/Virtual training environments. PHASE III: Likely military applications are for simulated tactical engagement training and, UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) flight control or ground based unmanned vehicle navigation and flight control, and for far target laser designators. Commercial application would be for light aircraft navigation and flight control. Likely transition opportunities in the test and training domains under PEO STRI are the One Tactical Engagement Simulation System (OneTESS), the Dismounted Soldier Training System (DSTS), the Call For Fire Trainer (CFFT), and the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST). In the operational domain, likely transition opportunity exists with PEO Soldier PM Soldier Systems & Lasers and their Laser Target Locator Modules (LTLM) that implement the use of a digital magnetic compass (DMC). REFERENCES: 1. “Optical Flow Estimation Using High Frame Rate Sequences”, S. Lim and A. El Gamal, Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Information Systems Lab, Stanford, CA 2. “Real-time Accurate Optical Flow-based Motion Sensor”, Z. Wei, D. Lee, B. Nelson, and J. Archibald, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Brigham Young University 3. “Precise Image-Based Motion Estimation for Autonomous Small Body Exploration”, Johnson, L. Matthies, 5th International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation in Space 4. “State Estimation using Optical Flow from Parallax-Weighted Feature Tracking”, J. Kehoe, A. Watkins, R. Causey, and R. Lind, Air Force Research Lab KEYWORDS: Geometric pairing, Live and Virtual Training, orientation, motion tracking A14-071 TITLE: Explosive Pulsed Power: Ferroelectric Generators for Advanced Munitions TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Weapons ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO Missiles and Space The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this effort is to develop very compact explosive driven ferroelectric generators capable of producing more than 500 kV at the input terminals of a variety of loads. DESCRIPTION: As we develop new munitions with different types of payloads, there is an ever increasing requirement for smaller, lighter, and cheaper electrical power sources for use in a variety of munitions ranging in size from 25 mm (1 inch) diameter to 18 cm (7 inches) diameter. In the case of smaller munitions, the number of available useful power supplies is limited. One type of pulsed power source that can meet these limitations is explosive pulsed power. The field of Explosive Pulsed Power (EPP) [1 – 4] was established in the early 1950s. These power supplies either convert the chemical energy stored in explosives into electrical energy or use the shock waves generated by explosives to release the energy stored in materials such as ferroelectrics or ferromagnetic. Explosive pulsed power generators are currently under investigation by several Department of Defense Laboratories as power supplies for new classes of warheads and munitions. Of particular interest is the Ferroelectric Generator (FEG), since it is one of the few power supplies capable of generating very high voltages required to drive high power microwave tubes in the available payload volume on current small munitions. The potential Achilles heel for FEGs is that they are very low energy devices. For them to be useful, one needs to be able to use several FEGs to power a single circuit. This means that one must use a single switch for the oscillator, as opposed to dielectric breakdown switching. Thus, we need either two or three times the energy from a single FEG or a switch that requires exceedingly little energy to switch while still being able to control up to 500 kV. If either or both of these needs cannot be met, then the FEG will probably not end up being useful for our sort of applications. Thus, the objectives of this effort are to investigate those mechanical or electric processes that can be modified to increase the output of FEGs from the state-of-the-art value of 100 kV to 500 kV and to ascertain their capabilities to drive payloads such as High Power Microwave (HPM) sources. This would include investigating the influence of such fundamental processes as shock dynamics, the electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties of ferroelectric and potting materials used, methods for controlling electrical breakdown, power conditioning techniques (switches, transformers, etc.), load characteristics, and so on when driving one or more types of HPM loads. Since the load impacts the operation of the FEG, it is important that tests be done with the load. The desired goal is to deliver 500 kV pulses to various HPM loads including orbitrons, magnetrons [5], Virtual Cathode Oscillators (VIRCATORs), and/or Magnetically Insulated line Oscillators (MILOs) having volumes as feasibly small as technically possible. PHASE I: The goal of Phase I is to identify those mechanical, electrical, and/or chemical characteristics of the generator that could be modified in order to improves the performance of FEGs designed to drive HPM payloads. This will include doing proof-of-principle experiments to verify that the correct parameters to be modified to meet the objectives of this Topic have been identified. Since the type of explosives used impacts the operation of the FEG, explosive tests need to be done. This will necessitate the requirement that the proposing firm have access to approved explosive test facilities. PHASE II: The objective of Phase II is to finalize the design of the FEG and demonstrate that it can deliver 500 kV to various high power microwave sources. The proposing Firm must also address any power conditioning and integration issues. In addition, the proposing Firm should also address any manufacturing issues that would impact the production of these power supplies. PHASE III: These FEGs would be used in pulsed technologies that are applicable to multiple military and commercial applications requiring pulsed power. These include portable water purification units, portable nondestructive testing systems, portable lightning simulators, expendable X-ray sources, burst communications and telemetry, and oil and mineral exploration. Since several government labs and prime contractors are developing advanced munitions, the contractor will need to have developed a business plan for working with these agencies and companies. REFERENCES: [1] L.L. Altgilbers, A.H. Stults, M. Kristiansen, A. Neuber, J. Dickens, A. Young, T. Holt, M. Elsayed,R. Curry, J. O’Connor, J. Baird, S. Shkuratov, B. Freeman, F. Rose, Z. Shotts, Z. Roberts, W. Hackenberger, E. Alberta, M. Rader, and A. Dougherty, “Recent Advances in Explosive Pulsed Power”, Journal of Directed Energy, 3(2) (2009). [2] R.E. Setchell, S.T. Montgomery, L.C. Chhabildas, and M.D. Furnish, “The effects of Shock Stress and Field Strength on Shock-Induced Depoling of Normally Poled PZT 95/5”, Shock Compression of Condensed Matter – 1999, AIP Conference Proceedings CP505, American Institute of Physics, New York, pp. 979 – 982 (2000). [3] Setchell, R. E., Chhabildas, L. C., Furnish, M. D., Montgomery, S. T., and Holman, G. T., “Dynamic Electromechanical Characterization of the Ferroelectric Ceramic PZT 950,” in Shock Compression of Condensed Matter - 1997, edited by S. C. Schmidt et al., AIP Conference Proceedings 429, New York, pp. 781-784 (1998). [4] L.L. Altgilbers, J. Baird, B. Freeman, C. Lynch, and S. Skhuratov, “Explosive Pulsed Power”, World Scientific Press (2011). [5] D.J. Hemmert, J.M. Mankowski, and L.L. Altgilbers, “A Ferroelectric Explosive Generator Coupled to a Common Microwave Oven Magnetron”, Tomsk 10th Congress on High Current Electronics, Tomsk, Russia (16-21 September 2012). [6] FY14 Warfighting Outcomes, Draft of a Document being prepared by TRADOC. KEYWORDS: Pulsed power, Switch, High Voltage, Electrical Breakdown, Ferroelectric A14-072 TITLE: Advanced Security Architectures for Mobile Computing Platforms TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO Missiles and Space The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. OBJECTIVE: Design, develop and demonstrate innovative secure software architectures for mobile computing platforms to mitigate security threats within a space communications network to execute tactical missions more effectively and securely. DESCRIPTION: As DoD has become increasingly dependent on the use of mobile computing platforms to conduct mission operations, the need for improving security in an environment that includes commercial mobile devices has grown. Key device level security issues facing mobile computing platforms include network authentication, data protection, malware defense and mobile ad-hoc networking. The focus and priority of this topic is seeking innovative software architectures for mobile ad-hoc networking to ensure secure communications in a complex space network environment. Mobile devices include, but are not limited to, smart phones and tablets that have a unique combination of computing power, mobile applications, and access to network data. Current software architectures provide insufficient protection necessary for sensitive DoD systems utilizing mobile computing platforms. The desire for self-organizing, self-forming, scalable, multi-hop mobile ad hoc networks poses significant security challenges due to their wireless and distributed nature. These characteristics and the frequent networking reconfiguration make it more vulnerable to intrusions and misbehaviors than a wired network. Additionally, applications and operating systems installed on mobile devices are suspect to malware or spyware, or may perform unexpected functions such as tracking user actions or sending private information to outsiders. Malicious activities could disrupt Army networks and compromise sensitive information. Finally, current mobile devices and software architectures are limited by their processing capability for executing complex encryption algorithms or mission data intensive computations. Preliminary research assessments highlight the availability of next generation device/component technologies and outline novel architecture designs with the potential to significantly improve network security. Of particular interest are Android-based platform solutions with multiple processors. Secure software architectures are being sought that fully utilize multiple processors within these devices and across a mobile ad hoc network to increase security, robustness, and computation capability. New innovative solutions are required in the form of secure software architectures for mobile ad-hoc networks to protect applications and data within a complex space network environment from being exploited or exfiltrated from advanced threats. Solutions should target one or more of the issues defined here and should be scalable across a network of mobile devices. PHASE I: Research and develop novel secure software architectures for mitigating security threats within a mobile ad-hoc network. Provide a proof-of-concept design and prototype demonstrating the feasibility of the concept. Verify the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at the conclusion of Phase I. PHASE II: Based on the verified successful results of Phase I, refine and extend the proof-of-concept design into a fully functioning pre-production prototype. Verify the TRL at the conclusion of Phase II. PHASE III: Develop the prototype into a comprehensive solution that could be used in a broad range of military and civilian mobile device network applications where increased security is required. This demonstrated capability will benefit and have transition potential to Department of Defense (DoD) weapons and support systems, federal, local and state organizations as well as commercial entities. REFERENCES: 1. Wenjia Li and Anupam Joshi. Security Issues in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks - A Survey, 2012. 2. Sudhir Agrawal, Sanjeev Jain, Sanjeev Sharma. A Survey of Routing Attacks and Security Measures in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks, 2011. 3. T.R. Henderson. Host Mobility for IP Networks: A Comparison, 2003. 4. Mikko Sarela and Pekka Nikander. Applying Host Identity Protocol to Tactical Networks, 2004. 5. Hannes Tschofenig, Andrei Gurtov, Jukka Ylitalo, Aarthi Nagarajan, Murugaraj Shanmugam. Traversing Middleboxes with the Host Identity Protocol, 2005. KEYWORDS: security architecture, security, mobile ad hoc network, mobile devices, space communication networks, network security, software architecture, mobile computing platform A14-073 TITLE: Bipolar Lead Acid Batteries for Military Vehicle Application TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles ACQUISITION PROGRAM: TARDEC The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. OBJECTIVE: Develop bipolar lead acid batteries that provide lighter weight and lower volume, for military vehicle applications. DESCRIPTION: Lead acid batteries are used in nearly all military ground vehicles. Many times, the size and weight of these batteries become prohibitive to meeting vehicle architecture and performance requirements. Bipolar lead acid technology offers a significant reduction in size and weight through the elimination of up to 50% of the inert lead grids. Traditional lead acid military batteries utilize a mono-polar construction, in which each cell consists of two plates (positive and negative) and each plate consists of a heavy lead metal grid pasted with active material. These plates are paired up to make a cell, and these cells are connected in series with metal connectors. In a bipolar design, each plate has positive active material on one side and negative active material on the other. Cells are created by stacking bipolar plates together so that the negative of one plate is paired with a positive of another plate, with each cell separated by the bipolar plate material. This construction alone offers an almost 50% reduction in inactive plate material. Additionally, the elimination of metallic connectors connecting the cells further reduces the weight and decreases the batteries internal resistance. Further improvements to the bipolar design can be accomplished through the investigation of alternate plate material and appropriate sealing techniques. An optimal bipolar plate material would be lightweight, inexpensive, and corrosion resistant. An appropriate sealing technique would prevent electrolyte from crossing between cells. Once an optimized bipolar lead acid battery design is established, the intended application would be a military vehicle starter battery. The current military lead acid batteries have an energy density of around 40Wh/kg , a specific energy 100 Wh/L and are capable of at least 120 deep discharge cycles. Some common military vehicle batteries are the 6T, 4HN, and 2HN, as well as some commercial form factors (Group 31, Group 75/86, Group 78, etc). A successful battery design would demonstrate improvements in energy density (60Wh/kg), specific energy (150Wh/L) and deep discharge cycle life (300 cycles). Additionally, the ideal final design would fit a standard military form factor and meet or exceed the weight, capacity, cold cranking amps, life cycle, and battery resistance requirements for that standard PHASE I: A successful Phase I would result in the development of bipolar lead acid cells that demonstrate 70Wh/kg energy density, 200Wh/L specific energy, and 50 deep discharge cycles on the cell level. Deliverables would include at least 5 bipolar lead acid cells for laboratory testing. PHASE II: A successful Phase II would scale up or otherwise optimize the cells developed in Phase I to fit a specific military form factor. These cells would be assembled into a multi cell string or battery module that demonstrate the feasibility of reaching the end goal of 60Wh/kg energy density, 150Wh/L specific energy, and 300 deep discharge cycles. Deliverables would include at least 3 bipolar lead acid strings/modules for laboratory testing. PHASE III: A successful Phase III would result in the development of bipolar lead acid battery that adheres to a standard military form factor and meets or exceeds military the specifications for weight, capacity, CCA, internal resistance, and cycle life. This battery should demonstrate 60Wh/kg energy density, 150Wh/L specific energy, and 300 deep discharge cycles. Potential military form factors include the 6T, 2HN, and 4HN as described in the military specifications MIL-PRF-32143B and MIL-B-11188H. Potential military applications would be any commercial lead acid start battery, such as Group 31, Group 75/86, Group 78, etc., as defined by Battery Council International. Deliverables would include at least 2 batteries for laboratory testing. REFERENCES: 1. The Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium, "The Advanced Lead-Acid Battery: Bipolar Designs- A Commercial Reality", 2. Hariharan B, "Bipolar Lead Acid Batteries: Opportunities Amongst the Automotive Segment", Frost & Sullivan, 27 Apr 2004 3. US Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command, "MIL-PRF-32143B, Performance Specification, Batteries, Storage: Automotive, Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA)", 5 October 2011 4. US Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command, "MIL-B-11188H, Military Specification, Batteries, Storage: Lead-Acid, General Specification for (Metric)", 13 Sept 1994 KEYWORDS: Bipolar, Lead, Batteries, Energy, Vehicle, Separator A14-074 TITLE: Rapid Prediction of Convective Heat Transfer for Thermal Signature Analysis TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles ACQUISITION PROGRAM: TARDEC The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. OBJECTIVE: A rapid modeling algorithm is required to predict convective heat transfer for military ground vehicle thermal and infrared (IR) signature analyses. The convection algorithm should model flow details at the levels of complexity and accuracy needed for convective heat transfer predictions and thermal signature evaluation. The algorithm must be capable of accurately modeling natural wind including its turbulent intensity. DESCRIPTION: Military vehicle survivability assessments require thermal modeling in order to achieve performance goals related to the control of thermal infrared (IR) signatures. Thermal management is the cornerstone of efficient IR signature control. A key part of the thermal analysis of ground vehicles is the prediction of the convection heat transfer caused by wind- and fan-driven flows, and by natural convection. Existing convection models are either CFD-based or they model convection using simple formulas. CFD solutions typically involve lengthy set-up times due to meshing requirements, require a high level user expertise, and can have computational solution times that restrict or prohibit their use in rapid design cycles or multiple-condition signature analyses. Simple convection formulas are not an acceptable solution since they can fail to capture important flow details such as windward flow acceleration, wake regions, exhaust flow impingement, etc. What is needed is a convection prediction process that can model the flow details at a coarse level – at the level needed for convective heat transfer prediction, and that has none of the user burden usually associated with traditional CFD use. PHASE I: Develop and demonstrate an algorithm to predict the heat transfer due to wind-based convection on a simple object. Develop a plan for an advanced algorithm that can be integrated into an existing military ground vehicle modeling process. The plan must address how the convection algorithm will use the geometry description and property assignments currently made during the setup of the thermal model for vehicles. The plan must describe the expected changes in the inputs, operation, and computational speed of the thermal and signature modeling processes that will be caused by the integration of the convection algorithm into it. |