Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: To address the Navy"s need to mitigate tow point surge of an unmanned surface vehicle

Description

To address the Navy"s need to mitigate tow point surge of an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) from +/-2 knots to +/-0.5 knots in sea states<=3 at towed speeds up to 20 knots, providing a more stable tow for a sonar towed body, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Adaptive Disturbance Mitigation System (ADiMiS) based on mature proven dynamic control methodology and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components. The entire ADiMiS size,<=150 in.^3 and weighing<=50 lb, is easily installed on the aft area of the USV without USV modification. ADiMiS measures the real-time dynamic variables of tow systems, providing control actions for current and near-future time steps to mitigate tow point disturbance and effectively stabilize towed body motions. In Phase I, POC will develop a reduced functional prototype for analysis, modeling, and simulation to demonstrate its capability. We will use these results to develop the Phase II development plan with performance goals and key technical milestones that address surge reduction performance, space, and weight, and reduce technical risk. In Phase II, we will develop a fully functional prototype to determine its capability to meet the performance goals and Navy requirements for the tow point surge reduction system.