Optical Perception System for Situational Awareness and Contact Detection for Unmanned Surface Vessels Navy SBIR FY2011.3 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2011.3 Topic No.: N113-175 Topic Title: Optical Perception System for Situational Awareness and Contact Detection for Unmanned Surface Vessels Proposal No.: N113-175-0152 Firm: International Electronic Machines 850 River St. Troy, New York 12180 Contact: Zack Mian Phone: (518) 268-1636 Web Site: http://www.iem.net Abstract: Naval USVs have a pressing need for constant panoramic situational awareness. International Electronic Machines (IEM), a leader in multispectral imaging and smart video processing, will design the Smart Integrated Situational Awareness System (SISAS), based on patented and unique panoramic imaging technology, patented and patent-pending multispectral smart image processing technologies and methods, and leveraging prior unmanned vehicle design and situational awareness work for the U.S. Marine Corps. SISAS will provide constant 360-degree coverage of the entire seascape using a multispectral imaging system with no moving components to wear out, sealed to prevent any effect from water, salt, dust, etc., onboard processing of the images for target detection and to determine characteristics such as range, bearing, speed, height to width ratio and size, onboard stabilization subsystem, ability to take direction from remote or other onboard systems to "zoom in" on targets of interest, and transmit appropriate data to other onboard systems for use there or by remote observers as desired. IEM will be assisted in this effort by ASE Optics, a leading consulting firm in the optical field which has assisted IEM in the past with numerous advanced optical design projects. Benefits: The successful completion and deployment of SISAS would vastly improve the abilities of USVs to fulfill their missions under the challenging real-world conditions encountered in the field. Constant full awareness of the surroundings plus the ability of the system to alert human operators/overseers to targets of interest will make the operation of these vital systems easier, safer, and more reliable. SISAS would be initially deployed to the Navy and other military services with small to moderate-sized unmanned systems, a market of a few million dollars per year initially; once proven in the field, this technology would be of interest to the multi-billion dollar security and perimeter monitoring market, as SISAS offers a long-term, high-resolution, low-maintenance solution for wide-area monitoring. Return