SCIENTIFIC SYSTEMS CO INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: AF083-135

Description

Under EAGLE, SSCI will develop use of electric (E) and magnetic (H) field sensors on autonomous small unmanned air vehicles (SUAVs) to perform tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) of electric power grids. This enables new capabilities to efficiently assess adversarial dependences on power distribution networks, find hidden assets, quickly track down grid faults, and perform surgically targeted grid disruptions. The flow of electric power generates EH fields that can be measured without interrupting the circuit or making physical contact with power lines. With the right set of measurements, power lines can be located, and voltages and currents can be deduced. By putting field sensors on an SUAV and adding autonomy, such measurements can be sampled from the necessary points in 3D space quickly and accurately. By interpreting data during flight, autonomy also guides the vehicle to collect further samples to fill in gaps or optimally extend the exploration frontier, closing the sensing loop. The key enabling technologies for this application are sensor adaptation and calibration for SUAV-mounted use, and autonomy behaviors which turn an EH field sampling tool into a tactically useful asset. In Phase II these are developed, and power grid ISR capabilities will be flight demonstrated.