INTELLISENSE SYSTEMS INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N201-028

Description

To address the Navy need for surf zone imaging through waves and ocean turbulence in shallow coastal waters, Intellisense Systems, Inc. proposes to develop a new Through-Wave Intelligent Imager (TWIIM) system based on a actively illuminated multispectral imager which utilizes novel convolutional neural networks to enhance through-wave imagery. Specifically, the innovation in the TWIIM neural network training procedure will enable the TWIIM system to obtain through-wave images with unsurpassed object contrast and resolution. As a result, TWIIM will provide Coastal Battlefield and Reconnaissance Analysis (COBRA) with (1) accuracy in the mine-detection algorithm upstream from TWIIM and (2) quality surf zone images for human analysts, which directly address COBRA’s requirements. In Phase I, Intellisense will develop a concept for surf zone imaging through waves and ocean turbulence in shallow coastal waters from small surface ships and/or airborne platforms and demonstrate feasibility of the proposed approach through a combination of analytical modeling and breadboarding. In Phase II, Intellisense plans to design, develop, and deliver an advanced prototype for surf zone imaging to the Navy, and conduct functional testing of the prototype-imaging sensor in a contractor laboratory environment and facilitate subsequent developmental testing in a representative field environment.