Image-based Navigation for Shipboard Landing (ImageNav-SL) Navy SBIR FY2011.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2011.2 Topic No.: N112-127 Topic Title: Image-based Navigation for Shipboard Landing (ImageNav-SL) Proposal No.: N112-127-1097 Firm: Scientific Systems Company, Inc 500 West Cummings Park - Ste 3000 Woburn, Massachusetts 01801-6562 Contact: Joseph Kehoe Phone: (781) 933-5355 Web Site: www.ssci.com Abstract: Autonomous landing of a Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Air Vehicle (VTUAV), such as Fire Scout, on the deck of a moving ship requires a precise and accurate ship-relative navigation solution. The existing automated landing system consists of ship-based radar equipment and airborne transponder equipment that utilizes round-trip Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics to determine relative positions. This approach is prone to component failure as well as unavailability of the required RF spectrum - issues that may require abandoning an expensive asset at sea. The proposed Image-based Navigation for Shipboard Landing (ImageNav-SL) system can act as a backup or replacement for the existing radar-transponder based solution and enables recovery in the aforementioned scenarios. In the proposed effort, SSCI will develop the ImageNav-SL onboard reference navigation data subsystem for the Fire Scout. ImageNav-SL will provide ship-relative navigation data to the Fire Scout's onboard guidance controller during approach and landing phases. ImageNav-SL computes the landing deck's position and orientation directly in vehicle coordinates using existing visual aids and without dependencies on a ship-to-platform synchronous datalink (with associated latencies and potential failures) or GPS. ImageNav-SL leverages existing real-time, EO/IR software libraries developed by SSCI for GPS-denied navigation and precision targeting over land. Benefits: The proposed shipboard landing system has both military as well as commercial applications. DoD will benefit by having a robust backup landing system that enables Fire Scout VTUAV recovery when primary radar based system is inoperative. The proposed system also enables autonomous landing on ships that are not equipped with the specialized, radar based equipment. The passive image based approach may further enable autonomous VTUAV landings on undeveloped land-based sites with minimal training and equipment for ground crews. Commercial applications involve robust autonomous landing capabilities for remotely operated VTUAVs deployed by law enforcement, fire-fighting, land surveying and other such entities. The proposed system can also operate as a pilot decision-aid that provides accurate navigation solution and guidance during challenging landing situations or during critical sensor failures. Return