STOTTLER HENKE ASSOCIATES, INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N152-088

Description

Current systems that analyze thermal imaging data on Navy aircraft do not provide threat level identification of detected objects. As a result, pilots must actively and manually process the data to identify and process targets. This takes the pilots focus and attention away from more important and critical tasks. There is however potential for a system to passively and intelligently monitor and analyze IR data and notify the pilot when a threat is detected that requires the pilot to handle and respond to the situation. In this proposal, we describe a solution that incorporates a variety of image-enhancing algorithms and state- of-the-art computer vision techniques as well as advanced artificial intelligence reasoning frameworks to create a high performing system that also has low false-positive rates. For each detected object, the system will extract a variety of defining characteristics and features, such as size, shape, location, and heat signature as well as longer-term flight patterns. The system will also be designed to be easily integrated into existing onboard systems.