BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: Barron Associates and its team propose a novel system design that facilitates autonomous i

Description

Barron Associates and its team propose a novel system design that facilitates autonomous inspection of arbitrarily-shaped tanks, voids and other structures. The portable system is designed to reduce labor and cost to the Navy from required repeated inspections and allows inspection of tanks or voids by a single user without requiring entry into the potentially-hazardous space. The system features locomotion capability that allows it to survey and catalog portions of the space inaccessible to other designs. A versatile sensor system enables the inspection of regions outside the reach of similar vehicles. A unique localization approach allows improved, redundant position estimation inside the volume without complicated user-setup or calibration. A custom-developed operator interface will allow real-time display of acquired sensor data and integration with existing shipboard protocol. The ability to store, recall and review data will be implemented as well. Autonomous capability is proposed to allow unattended operation that enables the possibility of a single user simultaneously inspecting multiple spaces, further reducing burden on the crew.