An Intelligent Visual Sensing System for Unmanned Surface Vessels Navy SBIR FY2011.3 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2011.3 Topic No.: N113-175 Topic Title: An Intelligent Visual Sensing System for Unmanned Surface Vessels Proposal No.: N113-175-0189 Firm: UtopiaCompression, Corporation 11150 W. Olympic Blvd. Suite 820 Los Angeles, California 90064-1839 Contact: Hieu Nguyen Phone: (310) 473-1500 Web Site: www.utopiacompression.com Abstract: Optical perception is essential for USVs to accomplish its diverse range of missions while working autonomously on the surface of water. USVs should have the abilities of automatically seeing and avoiding obstacles as well as recognizing navigation lights and day shapes in other vessels. The current technologies lack the ability to satisfactorily capture images and process the digital data and fail to meet performance requirements in terms of stabilization, coverage, range and obstacle detection. UtopiaCompression proposes an innovative Intelligent Visual Sensing (IVS) system that involves a panoramic camera and associated hardware and software components for supporting automatic contact detection and situational awareness for USVs. The camera provides a contiguous 360 degree field of view with uniform high resolution and image quality that is seamless, artifact-free, distortion-free and blur-free. We also develop system capabilities for stabilization, contact detection, navigation aid recognition, and range estimation. The system will have low size, weight and power (SWaP). Benefits: UC's proposed IVS technology will immediately benefit various service branches and agencies within the Department of Defense (DoD) in a diverse range of missions that involve use of USVs including Mine Countermeasures, Antisubmarine Warfare, Maritime Security, Surface Warfare, Special Operations, Forces Support, Electronic Warfare, and Maritime Interdiction Operation Support. USV will be particularly useful for mine sweeping missions where a major current deficiency is the inability of performing MCM without humans in the minefield. The IVS system will provide USVs with quick, real-time and full appraisal of the maritime situation and the risk of collision, which enables autonomous navigation. These capabilities are expected to increase the success rate of USV's missions while reducing the operator workload. Return