Newsletters: 2007, Issue 2

Small Business Innovation Research Phase III Success Stories

This issue of the PSI newsletter offers several examples of how we have successfully transitioned Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) technology beyond Phases I and II. In Phase III, a government agency or the private sector provides program funding to further develop the technology into a commercial product or service. A decision to do this implies a strong commitment to incorporate the product into a system or business, and provides further validation of the SBIR process.

While the initial applications for the hardware and software described in the following articles are in support of critical Department of Defense missions, non-government markets have also been identified in some cases. The AIRIS instrument will address local and industrial homeland security markets. The Fuel Contamination Monitor has already been tested at commercial airports. Several other examples are expected in the coming year. The bottom line is that none of these technologies would have been developed without the federal SBIR program.

AIRIS Range Test Validation System

AIRIS Field Prototype

PSI is developing a network of five passive standoff sensors for the Dugway Proving Ground to provide column density data on simulated chemical agent release clouds. This is a Phase III program based on a Phase II SBIR entitled "Imaging Sensor Constellation for Tomographic Chemical Plume Mapping". The resulting Range Test Validation System will provide ground truth test data for a measurement capability and test method-ology that can be used to characterize out-door releases of chemical vapor clouds.

This project exploits PSI's Adaptive InfraRed Imaging Spectro-radiometer Wide Area Detector (AIRIS-WAD) technology, a direct imaging multi-spectral sensor for passive standoff detection of chemical warfare agents. The Range Test Validation System will be demonstrated and delivered to the Army in late 2008. The AIRIS detector has been developed as a field prototype to address potential military and homeland security markets estimated at $25 to $50 million.

Fuel Contamination Monitor

In a previous newsletter, we reported that PSI had developed a laser-based, in-line sensor to monitor sediment and free water in aviation fuel aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers (SBIR Phase II entitled "Aviation Fuel Monitoring System"). After an extended sea trial aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and "first article testing", PSI's Aviation Fuel Contamination Monitoring System received approval from the Navy for use with JP-5 aviation fuel. During this fiscal year, PSI anticipates receiving an initial order for multiple units for an aircraft carrier.

PSI's Aviation Fuel Contamination Monitoring System

The system utilizes laser scattering technology to measure the quantities of free water and sediment in aviation fuel as it flows through a pipe. In addition to alleviating tedious manual fuel sampling processes, this technology has applications to non-military fuel sampling at commercial airports, fuel storage sites, and power plants.

As part of PSI's commercialization efforts, the sensor was also recently demonstrated on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter for use during helicopter refueling operations. The demonstration was a complete success and the Coast Guard has recommended that all air-capable cutters be outfitted with the sensor. First orders are expected in 2008.

Velcon Filters, one of PSI's commercial partners for this technology, has successfully installed the analyzer at a number of airports around the world. The Velcon Contaminant Analyzer (VCA) was officially launched as a product at the March 2007 Aviation Exposition in Orlando, FL.

The aviation fuel contamination system was developed by the PSI Control and Automation Group led by Michael White. The group is currently working to develop new applications of the laser light scattering measurement principle for portable devices and application to other fluids.

PSI Support of the SWx Payload

PSI has developed instrumentation and provided modeling support for the U.S. Air Force Space Weather Experiments (SWx) payload. The High-Energy Imaging Particle Spectrometer (HIPS) is an advanced, compact space instrument that measures the high energy electron and proton populations encountered by spacecraft. This sensor determines the energy, flux and direction for 1-10 MeV electrons and 30-300 MeV protons. These high energy particles are responsible for radiation-induced errors and damage to electronics components in space.

HIPS Sensor

The HIPS sensor is a diagnostic that supports space weather studies and measurements of wave-particle interactions. PSI's innovative HIPS sensor technology replaces complex and heavy magnetic sector analyzers. HIPS has been developed for the Air Force Research Laboratory Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) Satellite, scheduled for launch in 2009. The program manger, Dr. Donna Smatlak, is supported by Joy Stafford-Evans and Surjeet Paintal.

Tactical High Energy Laser Assessment

THELA Software

THELA is a Phase III effort sponsored by the Advanced Munitions Digital Modeling and Simulation program within the 46^th Test Wing, Air Armament Center, at Eglin AFB, FL. The goal of the THELA effort is to develop modeling and simulation tools that can be used to assess the utility of high energy lasers on airborne platforms against tactical targets. Throughout this three-year activity, PSI will continue to develop, generalize and improve a software tool that will enable the Eglin weapon system analysts, responsible for certifying the capability of new weapon systems during the acquisition process, to evaluate lethal damage boundaries and collateral damage effects.

The 46^th Test Wing will be evaluating the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) in FY 2008, and PSI will participate in the planning of demonstration experiments that can be used to help certify and validate the THELA simulation code. Once validated by experiment, the software tool will be delivered to the Air Force, as well as to other organizations within the DoD. Extensive program support is envisioned as the ATL acquisition process proceeds. Dr. Hart Legner, Program Manager for this project, is supported by Dr. Bill Laughlin and subcontractors ITT, Applied Research Associates, and BLAZETECH.

DoD Letter of Appreciation

Dr. Peter Nebolsine of PSI recently received a letter of appreciation from the Missile Defense Agency for participation in the 5th Missile Defense Conference Technical Sessions. Dr. Nebolsine's presentation "Comparison of Damage/Debris and Signatures for AEGIS BMD Flight Test Missions" was written by Peter Nebolsine and Norman Humer of PSI; Robert Nance, John Cogar, and Aaron Ward of Corvid Technologies; Wayne Chepren of NSWC; Meredith Mann, Northrop Grumman/Xon Tech, Inc.; and James Allen, L-3/Aeromet. More than 1200 delegates participated in the conference including many high ranking representatives of government and industry. This enabled in-depth professional communication between delegates and presenters on the many technical, policy and administrative issues facing the BMDS community.

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