ARETE ASSOCIATES — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N201-060

Description

Arete proposes to develop and deliver HyperionPro - a modular, passive, electro-optic payload for Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV) and Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV) enabling safe, autonomous navigation in GPS denied or degraded environments.  HyperionPro leverages Areté’s Celestial Navigation technology developed and demonstrated for submarines using onboard periscopes and processing architectures.  Under this program, the Celestial Navigation technology will be extended by: 1) inserting the capability into a modular payload designed to be fully integrated with MUSV and LUSV; 2) removing the need for a positioner by leveraging a 360-degree persistent optical design comprised of multiple cameras; 3) enabling sun tracking for daytime performance even in the presence of low to moderate marine cloud layer; and 4) inserting the computational algorithms into an embedded real-time processor architecture.  HyperionPro will provide MUSV and LUSV real-time streaming localization data including latitude, longitude, time, and confidence fields, while ingesting onboard inertial navigation system (INS) “dead-reckoning” heading information.  HyperionPro will be designed to meet all MUSV and LUSV physical, functional, and environmental requirements.