ILLINOISROCSTAR LLC — Department of Defense STTR Phase I: N20A-T004

ILLINOISROCSTAR LLC — STTR Phase I award from Department of Defense.

Phase I STTR feasibility signal

  • Phase I awards fund proof-of-concept work. For capture teams, they mark early interest from Department of Defense in a technical approach.
  • Watch for Phase II follow-ons from the same firm/topic family — that conversion path is where budgets and transition pressure rise.
  • Obligated amount $239,979. Cross-check similar awards in the same agency and technology tags for going-rate context.
  • Topic code N20A-T004 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.

Informational capture context from public federal data — not legal or bid advice.

Amount
$239,979
Agency
Department of Defense · Navy
Program / Phase
STTR · Phase I
Topic
N20A-T004
Solicitation
A
NAICS
Place of performance
IL
Period
2020-04-18 → 2021-08-10

Description

Illinois Rocstar LLC (IR) will develop a robust methodology and software for automated decomposition and hexahedral mesh generation to address the U.S. Navy modeling and simulation (M&S) needs. Extending the Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) CUBIT package and the IR Nuclear Energy Modeling System (NEMoSys) meshing software, the proposed automated hex-meshing software, offered as an extension module to CUBIT, uses artificial intelligence for decomposition and robust hex meshing algorithms. The product software will support meshing of solid objects, required types of input and output, cross-OS functionality, and compatibility with Naval M&S software. The geometric constraints of hexahedral elements require that a complex domain be first decomposed to a set of hex-meshable sub-domains, a critical task that can take a large portion of total M&S time. NEMoSys is the IR in-house, cross operating system, open-source meshing software. The package integrates a carefully selected set of open-source computational geometry and meshing libraries into a coherent tool that provides meshing services including automated mesh generation, quality evaluation, partitioning/joining, accurate and conservative grid data transfer, re-meshing, adaptive mesh refinement (AMR), physics solution verification, and format conversion. IR will investigate the potential for replacing user expertise with artificial intelligence in the critical task of domain decomposition. IR will establish technical feasibility through research, development, and prototyping of the smart decomposition and automated hex-meshing methodology. SNL will provide technical advice on CUBIT, modifications to the underlying algorithm, testing, and benchmarking. IR will perform preliminary testing and verification to demonstrate the feasibility of decomposition and hex meshing processes. In consultation with SNL, IR will develop plans for the full implementation and testing of the plugin in subsequent phases.