TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Sensors, Battlespace, Weapons

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: TBD

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 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective is to increase persistence of remote sensors in support of ISR CONOPS.

DESCRIPTION: Develop a comprehensive energy management system for unmanned untethered vehicles and unattended sensors. The usefulness of such systems is limited by power to support the mission payloads. We need a comprehensive energy management system to extend life of remote sensors.

Metrics include power to weight and power to volume ratios as well as mission life. Power requirements for the metrics include the support of the payload and housekeeping infrastructure). Weight/Volume pertains to power management support hardware and power source(s).

PHASE I: Develop a concept for energy sources and a management system that optimizes the operation of untethered unmanned vehicles and unattended sensors. Candidate sources should include, but not be limited to, engines, batteries and fuel cells. The system would also harvest energy, of all feasible types to include, but not be limited to, motion, light, thermal, radiation (RF). The conceptual vehicle and sensor system concept would identify and/or specify communications using power aware protocols and an allocation strategy for critical and non-critical components.

The concept would define a feasibility trade space that would include size, weight and power metrics, efficiency, energy density, processing and control, cost and candidate mission profiles (e.g. duty cycle). The concept might define classes in a performance trade space.

Deliver a model that demonstrates performance goals. For the purpose of this model, a nominal vehicle would support a size of 12 inch diameter by 72 inch length for power and power management. Nominal mission duration is 30 days with a round trip (surface or subsurface) transit of 300 km with speed greater than 3 knots. Payload peak power requirement is nominally 300W but can be decomposed to manage the duty cycle of critical sensor, communications and housekeeping components. Key metrics are the energy to weight (joules/kilogram) and energy to volume (joules/liter) ratios. It must be clear that the demonstrated metrics are greater than that of conventional power sources without harvesting and management. Consideration would be given for innovative management strategies or better metrics.

PHASE II: Deliver a refined model that characterizes a configuration trade space sufficient for detailed design options.

The power system prototype shall include a processor and communications such that non-critical components are managed by priority and a mission rule set. The rule set would consider power capacity, mission requirements, and applicable conditions (e.g. navigation and environment) and allow for recovery. The rule set would be represented by XML for on air reprogramming priorities and reuse. A MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation will be demonstrated for power management algorithms and strategies.

Build , demonstrate and test a prototype power management subsystem for the most applicable configuration in the trade space.
Phase II deliverables would include model files, a bill of material with cost data for the prototype, the schema rule sets and a software description document.

PHASE III: Refine, build and integrate applications of this concept. Multiple products will be considered with a greater focus on cost/benefit/performance optima. A modular power management, appropriately scaled, would apply to most remoted sensors. Early transition is anticipated for experimentation.
Remoted sensors would be controlled by current systems (POR's) on stand-off platforms. These POR systems would be configured for remoted sensor interfaces and used as available as organic sensor augmentation.
Payloads may be classified.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Commercial: environmental sensors.
Military: force protection; ISR

REFERENCES:
1. SEACON 2007 (ad hoc networking)

2. MHQ w/MOC CONOPS Brief (ONR BAA 07-021 dated 10 April 2007)
Naval Post Graduate School Masters Thesis (Jon M. Seguin): Simulating Candidate Missions for a Novel Glider Unmanned Underwater Vehicle, March 2007

3. Mathworks 2007 World Tour Hybrid Electric Vehicle model

KEYWORDS: energy harvesting; power management; remoted sensors; ad hoc networking; unmanned vehicle; unattended sensor

TPOC: Thomas Starai
Phone: (301) 669-2133
Fax:
Email: [email protected]