PHELPS2020, INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N161-055

Description

Phelps2020 proposes a multi-sensor system (SAFE) that passively increases operational distances in the maritime environment in the presence of dense fog. The system comprises multiple modalities (EO, SWIR, LWIR) operating in various modes (temporal, multi-spectral, and polarized), and orchestrated via an optimized set of algorithms within a decision making fusion framework. Our solution involves the use of Consumer Off-the-Shelf (COTS) sensors together with proprietary novel algorithms to detect fog and measure visibility distances from EO and IR data. The masking effects of fog are then alleviated via adaptive enhancements to increase visibility by a tenfold. Illumination, color, and heat contrast issues are also resolved via powerful algorithms for quality and interpretability improvement. A multi-parameter fusion is used to jointly optimize sensor usage, guide sensor cueing, selection, addition, or removal according to various reliability and confidence criteria. SAFE is originally targeted to reside onboard military ships at sea, but it will also be a great addition to commercial ships to improve navigation, prevent accidents, and minimize delays. Additional applications are found in other military, government, and civilian domains, via minor customization. One such example is the use of SAFEs software engine with existing sensor turrets on-board manned and unmanned aerial systems.