Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: To address the Navy"s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter development goals for intelligent, fa

Description

To address the Navy"s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter development goals for intelligent, fault-tolerant, and robust aircraft power management, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Aircraft-based Prognostic, Robust, Intelligent Management of Electricity (AIR-PRIME) system. This proposed system is based on solid-state high-power switching, intelligent heuristic algorithms, and a robust control electronics design. The innovation in electronics design and prognostics will provide enhanced power distribution system reliability, safety, and maintainability, reducing Navy manpower and repair costs. POC"s proposed AIR-PRIME can gracefully handle a wide range of faults, provide prognostic information about aircraft equipment, and protect equipment in real time. In Phase I, POC will demonstrate the feasibility of AIR-PRIME by fabricating a small-scale prototype equipment network and power distribution system powered by a COTS power supply, yielding a TRL-4 prototype. In Phase II, POC will improve the heuristic database detail and depth, control electronics complexity, and solid-state driver design, and develop a MIL-SPEC housing with performance characteristics similar to current avionics equipment such as radar and power equipment, identifying a suitable integration infrastructure for AIR-PRIME.