SUMMIT TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: AF221-DCSO1

Description

C2 begins with the collective understanding of the mass of data available to the warfighter.  Over the decades the speed of data has evolved from horses to telegraph; radio; data; video; visualizations; VR; AI and ML, but the single limiter remains the same…the individual and their ability to consume, interpret, understand, decide and then take action.  Modern C2 is a shared team effort and the team is composed of a multitude of individuals, all with different levels of experiences, perspectives and filters requiring interactions, iterations and cross leveling.  However, true shared understanding is impossible when the same data is presented to individuals in different forms, formats, combinations, displays, filters etc.  Research and practical experience proves size and immersiveness of the displayed data matters.  Wrapping the team in a single immersive display of data is the only way to unleash the power of human factors: body language, facial expression, tone & tenor, effectively achieving common understanding.  Better Understanding = Better Decisions = Better Outcomes.    Battlefield display technology has not evolved beyond 2D commercially available systems that do not meet the stringent SWaP requirements for Agile Combat Employment required to survive A2AD environments.  These systems are expensive, heavy, cumbersome, fragile or a patchwork of subsystems (cinemassive, LED walls, LED Monitors, popup LED monitors or frame & screen based projection). We have proven it is feasible to project 4k HD content directly onto a non-static surface that is both automated and continuously shape conforming while maintaining perspective, form and resolution.  Imagine a deployed unit projecting all of its data needs directly onto the sides of the command/C2 tent creating a massive surround presentation while maintaining the highest quality resolution and projected form, even though the sides of the tent are in continuous motion due to environmentals providing the warfighter what they NEED at a SWaP they can AFFORD. We propose to advance a deep-tech computer vision technology and algorithm that automatically manipulates projected light to conform to the natural and continuous motion of a complex surface such as that exhibited by the inside walls of a military grade tent. Leveraging our industry leading expertise and experience to mesh multiple lightweight consumer grade projectors into a 4-8K HD  interactive immersive projection, we believe it is very possible to develop a light weight, highly portable, robust, auto aligning, auto calibrating data visualization display for projecting digital content onto a non-static deformable surface (e.g. Tent wall).