AIR FORCE
SBIR 08.1 Proposal Submission Instructions
The AF proposal submission instructions are intended to clarify the DoD instructions as they apply to AF requirements.
The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is responsible for the implementation and management of the Air Force SBIR Program.
The Air Force Program Manager is Mr. Steve Guilfoos, 1-800-222-0336. For general inquires or problems with the electronic submission, contact the DoD Help Desk at 1-866-724-7457 (1-866-SBIRHLP) (8am to 5pm EST). For technical questions about the topic during the pre-solicitation period (13 Nov through 09 Dec 07), contact the Topic Authors listed for each topic on the website. For information on obtaining answers to your technical questions during the formal solicitation period (10 Dec 07 through 09 Jan 08), go to http://www.dodsbir.net/sitis/.
The Air Force SBIR Program is a mission-oriented program that integrates the needs and requirements of the Air Force through R&D topics that have military and commercial potential
PHASE I PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Read the DoD program solicitation at www.dodsbir.net/solicitation for program requirements. When you prepare your proposal, keep in mind that Phase I should address the feasibility of a solution to the topic. For the Air Force, the contract period of performance for Phase I shall be nine (9) months, and the award shall not exceed $100,000. We will accept only one cost proposal per topic proposal and it must address the entire nine-month contract period of performance.
The Phase I award winners must accomplish the majority of their primary research during the first six months of the contract. Each Air Force organization may request Phase II proposals prior to the completion of the first six months of the contract based upon an evaluation of the contractor’s technical progress and review by the Air Force Technical point of contact utilizing the criteria in section 4.3 of the DoD solicitation The last three months of the nine-month Phase I contract will provide project continuity for all Phase II award winners so no modification to the Phase I contract should be necessary. Phase I technical proposals have a 20 page-limit (excluding the cost proposal, cost proposal itemized listing (a – h), and Company Commercialization Report). The Air Force will evaluate and select Phase I proposals using review criteria based upon technical merit, principal investigator qualifications, and commercialization potential as discussed in this solicitation document.
|
ALL PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS TO THE AIR FORCE PROGRAM MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY.
|
Limitations on Length of Proposal
The technical proposal must be no more than 20 pages (no type smaller than 10-point on standard 8 1/2 " X 11" paper with one (1) inch margins). The Cost Proposal, cost proposal itemized listing (a-h), and Company Commercialization Report are excluded from the 20 page limit. Only the Proposal Cover Sheet (pages 1 & 2), the Technical Proposal (beginning with page 3), and any enclosures or attachments count toward the 20-page limit. In the interest of equity, pages in excess of the 20-page limitation (including attachments, appendices, or references, but excluding the cost proposal, cost proposal itemized listing (a-h), and Company Commercialization Report, will not be considered for review or award.
Proposal Cover Sheets. Your cover sheets will count as the first two pages of your proposal no matter how they print out. If your proposal is selected for award, the technical abstract and discussion of anticipated benefits will be publicly released on the Internet; therefore, do not include proprietary information in these sections.
Technical Proposal: The Technical Proposal should include all graphics and attachments but should not include the Cover Sheet or Company Commercialization Report (as these items are completed separately). Cost Proposal information should be provided by completing the on-line Cost Proposal form and including the cost proposal itemized listing (a-h) specified in the Cost Proposal section later in these instructions. This itemized listing should be placed as the last page(s) of the Technical Proposal Upload. (Note: Only one file can be uploaded to the DoD Submission Site. Ensure that this single file includes your complete Technical Proposal and the cost proposal itemized listing (a-h) information.
Most proposals will be printed out on black and white printers so make sure all graphics are distinguishable in black and white. It is strongly encouraged that you perform a virus check on each submission to avoid complications or delays in submitting your Technical Proposal. To verify that your proposal has been received, click on the “Check Upload” icon to view your proposal. Typically, your uploaded file will be virus checked and converted to PDF within the hour. However, if your proposal does not appear after an hour, please contact the DoD Help Desk at 1-866-724-7457 (8am to 5pm EST)..
Key Personnel
Identify in the technical proposal key personnel who will be involved in this project, including information on directly related education and experience. A resume of the principle investigator, including a list of publications, if any, must be included. Resumes of proposed consultants, if any, are also useful. Consultant resumes may be abbreviated. Please identify any foreign nationals you expect to be involved in this project, as a direct employee, subcontractor, or consultant. Please provide resumes, country of origin and an explanation of the individual’s involvement.
Phase I Work Plan Outline
|
NOTE: PROPRIETARY INFORMATION SHALL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE WORK PLAN OUTLINE. THE AF WILL USE THIS WORK PLAN OUTLINE AS THE INITIAL DRAFT OF THE PHASE I STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW). |
At the beginning of your proposal work plan section, include an outline of the work plan in the following format:
1) Scope
List the major requirements and specifications of the effort.
2) Task Outline
Provide a brief outline of the work to be accomplished over the span of the Phase I effort.
3) Milestone Schedule
4) Deliverables
a. Kickoff meeting within 30 days of contract start
b. Progress reports
c. Technical review within 6 months
d. Final report with SF 298
Cost Proposal
The on-line cost proposal must be at a level of detail that would enable Air Force personnel to determine the purpose, necessity and reasonability of each cost element. Provide sufficient information (a through h below) on how funds will be used if the contract is awarded. Include the itemized cost proposal information (a-h) as an appendix in your technical proposal. The itemized cost proposal information (a-h) will not count against the 20 page limit.
a. Special Tooling and Test Equipment and Material: The inclusion of equipment and materials will be carefully reviewed relative to need and appropriateness of the work proposed. The purchase of special tooling and test equipment must, in the opinion of the Contracting Officer, be advantageous to the government and relate directly to the specific effort. They may include such items as innovative instrumentation and / or automatic test equipment.
b. Direct Cost Materials: Justify costs for materials, parts, and supplies with an itemized list containing types, quantities, and price and where appropriate, purposes.
c. Other Direct Costs: This category of costs includes specialized services such as machining or milling, special testing or analysis, costs incurred in obtaining temporary use of specialized equipment. Proposals, which include leased hardware, must provide an adequate lease vs. purchase justification or rational.
d. Direct Labor: Identify key personnel by name if possible or by labor category if specific names are not available. The number of hours, labor overhead and / or fringe benefits and actual hourly rates for each individual are also necessary.
e. Travel: Travel costs must relate to the needs of the project. Break out travel cost by trip, with the number of travelers, airfare, per diem, lodging, etc. The number of trips required, as well as the destination and purpose of each trip. Recommend budgeting at least one (1) trip to the Air Force location managing the contract.
f. Cost Sharing: Cost sharing is permitted. However, cost sharing is not required, nor will it be an evaluation factor in the consideration of a proposal. Please note that cost share contracts do not allow fees.
g. Subcontracts: Involvement of university or other consultants in the planning and / or research stages of the project may be appropriate. If the offeror intends such involvement, described in detail and include information in the cost proposal. The proposed total of all consultant fees, facility leases or usage fees and other subcontract or purchase agreements may not exceed one-third of the total contract price or cost, unless otherwise approved in writing by the contracting officer.
(NOTE): The Small Business Administration has issued the following guidance:
“ Agencies participating in the SBIR Program will not issue SBIR contracts to small business firms that include provisions for subcontracting any portion of that contract award back to the originating agency or any other Federal Government agency.” See Section 2.6 of the DoD program solicitation for more details.
Support subcontract costs with copies of the subcontract agreements. The supporting agreement documents must adequately describe the work to be performed (i.e. cost proposal). At the very least, a statement of work with a corresponding detailed cost proposal for each planned subcontract.
h. Consultants: Provide a separate agreement letter for each consultant. The letter should briefly state what service or assistance will be provided, the number of hours required and hourly rate.
PHASE I PROPOSAL SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
Failure to meet any of the criteria will result in your proposal being REJECTED and the Air Force will not evaluate your proposal.
1) The Air Force Phase I proposal shall be a nine month effort and the cost shall not exceed $100,000.
2) The Air Force will accept only those proposals submitted electronically via the DoD SBIR website (www.dodsbir.net/submission).
3) You must submit your Company Commercialization Report electronically via the DoD SBIR website (www.dodsbir.net/submission).
It is mandatory that the complete proposal submission -- DoD Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Proposal with any appendices, Cost Proposal, and the Company Commercialization Report -- be submitted electronically through the DoD SBIR website at http://www.dodsbir.net/submission. Each of these documents is to be submitted separately through the website. Your complete proposal must be submitted via the submissions site on or before the 6:00am EST, 9 January 2008 deadline. A hardcopy will not be accepted. Signatures are not required at proposal submission when submitting electronically. If you have any questions or problems with electronic submission, contact the DoD SBIR Help Desk at 1-866-724-7457 (8am to 5pm EST).
|
The Air Force recommends that you complete your submission early, as computer traffic gets heavy near the solicitation closing and could slow down the system. Do not wait until the last minute. The Air Force will not be responsible for proposals being denied due to servers being “down” or inaccessible. Please assure that your e-mail address listed in your proposal is current and accurate. By the end of January, you will receive an e-mail serving as our acknowledgement that we have received your proposal. The Air Force is not responsible for notifying companies that change their mailing address, their e-mail address, or company official after proposal submission.
|
As a means of drawing greater attention to SBIR accomplishments, the Air Force has developed a Virtual Shopping Mall at http://www.sbirsttrmall.com. Along with being an information resource concerning SBIR policies and procedures, the Shopping Mall is designed to help facilitate the Phase III transition process. In this regard, the Shopping Mall features: (a) SBIR Impact / Success Stories written by the Air Force; and (b) Phase I and Phase II summary reports that are written and submitted by SBIR companies. Since summary reports are intended for public viewing via the Internet, they should not contain classified, sensitive, or proprietary information. Submission of a Phase I Final Summary Report is a mandatory requirement for any company awarded a Phase I contract in response to this solicitation..
Evaluation of the primary research effort and the proposal will be based on the scientific review criteria factors (i.e., technical merit, principal investigator (and team), and commercialization plan). Please note that where technical evaluations are essentially equal in merit, and as cost and/or price is a substantial factor, cost to the government will be considered in determining the successful offeror. The Air Force anticipates that pricing will be based on adequate price competition. The next tie-breaker on essentially equal proposals will be the inclusion of manufacturing technology considerations.
The Air Force will utilize the Phase I evaluation criteria in section 4.2 of the DoD solicitation in descending order of importance with technical merit being most important, followed by the qualifications of the principal investigator (and team), and followed by commercialization plan. The Air Force will use the phase II evaluation criteria in section 4.3 of the DoD solicitation with technical merit being most important, followed by the commercialization plan, and then qualifications of the principal investigator (and team).
|
NOTICE: Only government personnel and technical personnel from Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), Mitre Corporation and Aerospace Corporation, working under contract to provide technical support to Air Force product centers (Electronic Systems Center and Space and Missiles Center respectively), may evaluate proposals. All FFRDC employees at the product centers have non-disclosure requirements as part of their contracts with the centers. In addition, Air Force support contractors may be used to administratively process or monitor contract performance and testing. Contractors receiving awards where support contractors will be utilized for performance monitoring may be required to execute separate non-disclosure agreements with the support contractors. |
The Air Force has implemented on-line proposal status updates and debriefings (for proposals not selected for an Air Force award) for small businesses submitting proposals against Air Force topics. At the close of the Phase I Solicitation – and following the submission of a Phase II via the DoD SBIR / STTR Submission Site (https://www.dodsbir.net/submission) - small business can track the progress of their proposal submission by logging into the Small Business Area of the Air Force SBIR / STTR Virtual Shopping Mall (http://www.sbirsttrmall.com). The Small Business Area (http://www.sbirsttrmall.com/Firm/login.aspx ) is password protected and firms can view their information only.
To receive a status update of a proposal submission, click the “Proposal Status / Debriefings” link at the top of the page in the Small Business Area ( after logging in ). A listing of proposal submissions to the Air Force within the last 12 months is displayed. Status update intervals are: Proposal Received, Evaluation Started, Evaluation Completed, Selection Started, and Selection Completed. A date will be displayed in the appropriate column indicating when this stage has been completed. If no date is present, the proposal submission has not completed this stage. Small businesses are encouraged to check this site often as it is updated in real - time and provide the most up - to- date information available for all proposal submissions. Once the “Selection Completed” date is visible, it could still be a few weeks ( or more ) before you are contacted by the Air Force with a notification of selection or non – selection. The Air Force receives thousands of proposals during each solicitation and the notification process requires specific steps to be completed prior to a Contracting Officer distributing this information to small business.
The Principal Investigator (PI) and Corporate Official (CO) indicated on the Proposal Coversheet will be notified by Email regarding proposal selection or non - selection. The Email will include a link to a secure Internet page to be accessed which contains the appropriate information. If your proposal is tentatively selected to receive an Air Force award, the PI and CO will receive a single notification. If your proposal is not selected for an Air Force award, the PI and CO may receive up to two messages. The first message will notify the small business that the proposal has not been selected for an Air Force award and provide information regarding the availability of a proposal debriefing. The notification will either indicate that the debriefing is ready for review and include instructions to proceed to the “ Proposal Status / Debriefings “ area of the Air Force SBIR / STTR Virtual Shopping Mall or it may state that the debriefing is not currently available but generally will be within 90 days (due to unforeseen circumstances, some debriefings may be delayed beyond the nominal 90 days). If the initial notification indicates the debriefing will be available generally within 90 days, the PI and CO will receive a follow – up notification once the debriefing is available on - line. All proposals not selected for an Air Force award will have an on – line debriefing available for review. Available debriefings can be viewed by clicking on the “ Debriefing “ link, located on the right of the Proposal Title, in the “ Proposal Status / Debriefings “ section of the Small Business Area of the Air Force SBIR / STTR Virtual Shopping Mall. Small Businesses will receive a notification for each proposal submitted. Please read each notification carefully and note the proposal number and topic number referenced. Also observe the status of the debriefing as availability may differ between submissions (e.g., one may state the debriefing is currently available while another may indicate the debriefing will be available within 90 days).
IMPORTANT: Proposals submitted to the Air Force are received and evaluated by different offices within the Air Force and handled on a topic - by- topic basis. Each office operates within their own schedule for proposal evaluation and selection. Updates and notification timeframes will vary by office and topic. If your company is contacted regarding a proposal submission, it is not necessary to contact the Air Force to inquire about additional submissions. Check the Small Business Area of the Air Force SBIR / STTR Virtual Shopping Mall for a current update. Additional notifications regarding your other submissions will be forthcoming
We anticipate having all the proposals evaluated and our Phase I contract decisions by mid-May. All questions concerning the status of a proposal, or debriefing, should be directed to the local awarding organization SBIR Program Manager. Organizations and their Topic numbers are listed later in this section (before the Air Force Topic descriptions).
PHASE II PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS
Phase II is the demonstration of the technology that was found feasible in Phase I. Only those Phase I awardees that are invited to submit a Phase II proposal and all FAST TRACK applicants will be eligible to submit a Phase II proposal. The awarding Air Force organization will send detailed Phase II proposal instructions to the appropriate small businesses. Phase II efforts are typically two (2) years in duration and do not exceed $750,000. (NOTE) All Phase II awardees must have a Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) approved accounting system. Get your DCAA accounting system in place prior to the AF Phase II award timeframe. If you do not have a DCAA approved accounting system this will delay / prevent Phase II contract award. If you have questions regarding this matter, please discuss with your Phase I contracting officer.
All proposals must be submitted electronically at www.dodsbir.net/submission. The complete proposal - Department of Defense (DoD) cover sheet, entire technical proposal with appendices, cost proposal and the Company Commercialization Report – must be submitted by the date indicated in the invitation. The technical proposal is limited to 50 pages (unless a different number is specified in the invitation). The commercialization report, any advocacy letters, SBIR Environment Safety and Occupational Health (ESOH) Questionnaire, and cost proposal itemized listing (a through h) will not count against the 50 page limitation and should be placed as the last pages of the Technical Proposal file that is uploaded. (Note: Only one file can be uploaded to the DoD Submission Site. Ensure that this single file includes your complete Technical Proposal and the additional cost proposal information.) The preferred format for submission of proposals is Portable Document Format (PDF). Graphics must be distinguishable in black and white. Please virus check your submissions.
FAST TRACK
Detailed instructions on the Air Force Phase II program and notification of the opportunity to submit a FAST TRACK application will be forwarded with all AF Phase I selection E-Mail notifications. The Air Force encourages businesses to consider a FAST TRACK application when they can attract outside funding and the technology is mature enough to be ready for application following successful completion of the Phase II contract.
NOTE:
1) Fast Track applications must be submitted not later than 150 days after the start of the Phase I contract.
2) Fast Track phase II proposals must be submitted not later than 180 days after the start of the Phase I contract.
3) The Air Force does not provide interim funding for Fast Track applications. If selected for a phase II award, we will match only the outside funding for Phase II.
For FAST TRACK applicants, should the outside funding not become available by the time designated by the awarding Air Force activity, the offeror will not be considered for any Phase II award. FAST TRACK applicants may submit a Phase II proposal prior to receiving a formal invitation letter. The Air Force will select Phase II winners based solely upon the merits of the proposal submitted, including FAST TRACK applicants.
On active Phase II awards, the Air Force will select a limited number of Phase II awardees for the Enhancement Program to address new unforeseen technology barriers that were discovered during the Phase II work. The selected enhancements will extend the existing Phase II contract award for up to one year and the Air Force will match dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000 of non-SBIR government matching funds. Contact the local awarding organization SBIR Manager for more information. (See Air Force SBIR Organization Listing) . If selected for a Phase II enhancement, the company must submit a Phase II Enhancement application through the DoD Submission Website at www.dodsbir.net/submission.
The Air Force reserves the right to modify the Phase II submission requirements. Should the requirements change, all Phase I awardees that are invited to submit Phase II proposals will be notified. The Air Force also reserves the right to change any administrative procedures at any time that will improve management of the Air Force SBIR Program.
In addition to all the Phase I contractual deliverables, Phase I award winners must submit a Phase I Final Summary Report at the end of their Phase I project. The Phase I summary report is an unclassified, non-sensitive, and non-proprietary summation of Phase I results that is intended for public viewing on the Air Force SBIR / STTR Virtual Shopping Mall. A summary report should not exceed 700 words, and should include the technology description and anticipated applications / benefits for government and / or private sector use. It should require minimal work from the contractor because most of this information is required in the final technical report. The Phase I summary report shall be submitted in accordance with the format and instructions posted on the Virtual Shopping Mall website at http://www.sbirsttrmall.com.
All final reports will be submitted to the awarding Air Force organization in accordance with the Contract. Companies will not submit final reports directly to the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).
*********************************************************************************************
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
For Topics AF081C-016, AF081C-042, and AF081C-043
These special instructions apply only to topic AF081C-016 and are in addition to the regular instructions listed at the beginning of the Air Force section of the solicitation.
The Air Force plans on awarding multiple Phase I contracts on this topic. Each Phase I contract will be limited to $100K. We anticipate that these phase I contract awards will be normal 9 month efforts with six months planned for the technical effort and an additional three months allowed for reporting.
The Air Force plans on awarding one Phase II contract worth up to $3+M. Phase II proposals will be by invitation only. At that time, special instructions will be provided for the Phase II proposals. Examples of the additional information needed in the Phase II proposal invitation package include the following: a business plan, a transition plan addressing the specific requirements of the platform for success implementation, and implementation plan. All these plans will document the offeror’s ability to address all aspects necessary to ensure implementation of the innovative approach to produce and deliver reduced cost, high performance active noise reduction earplugs upon completion of the Phase II award.
The following additional evaluation criteria will be utilized in conjunction with the criteria set forth in Section 4.3 of the solicitation in determining the Phase II award:
a. The ability of the offeror to identify and address the critical high cost/ long cycle time processes from their specific materials processing and fabrication detailed value stream analysis. The offeror must identify innovative technical approaches to address the critical processes, and the associated return-on-investment (ROI) of those approaches assuming successful implementation.
b. The business plan will be reviewed and a sensitivity analysis will be performed on their business plan based on various levels of implementation.
c. The transition plan will be reviewed for completeness in addressing the specific requirements of the platform for successful implementation.
d. The implementation plan will be reviewed for assessment of risk and the business case for insuring cost and throughput competitiveness.
We anticipate that the phase II effort will be a traditional two years technical effort with an additional three months allowed for reporting.
These special instructions apply only to topics AF081C-042, and AF081C-043 and are in addition to the regular instructions listed at the beginning of the Air Force section of the solicitation.
The Air Force plans on awarding multiple Phase I contracts for these topics. Each Phase I effort will be limited to $100K. We anticipate that these phase I efforts will be accelerated to less than our traditional nine months with four months planned for the technical effort and an additional two months allowed for reporting (total: 6 months).
The Air Force plans on awarding one Phase II contract worth up to $3+M. Phase II proposals will be by invitation only. At that time, special instruction will be provided for the Phase II proposals. Examples of the additional information needed in the Phase II proposal package include the following: critical high cost/ long cycle time processes from their specific manufacturing detailed value stream analysis (VSA), innovative technical approaches to address the critical processes and associated return on investment (ROI). Also, it is expected that the Phase II proposal will include both a business plan and a transition plan. These plans will document the offerors ability to address all aspects necessary to ensure implementation of the innovative approach to manufacture upon completion of the Phase II award.
We anticipate that the phase II effort will be a traditional two years technical effort with an additional three months allowed for reporting.
AirForce SBIR 08.1 Topic Index
AF081-001 3D Magnetic Field Modeling
AF081-003 Innovative Research for Crashworthy Stowable Troop Seating for Helicopters
AF081-005 Mobile Aircrew Crashworthy Seating Systems for Helicopters
AF081-006 Advanced Fabric Technology Materials for Future Aircrew Life Support Equipment
AF081-007 Solid State Night Vision Sensor
AF081-008 Optical Limiters Without Focal Planes
AF081-009 Low-Power Direct-View Flexible Displays
AF081-010 High-Resolution Wide-Field Night Vision Goggle
AF081-011 Head Mounting Device for Advanced Night Vision Goggle (NVG) Systems
AF081-013 Intelligent Scenario Generation Tools for Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) Training and Rehearsal
AF081-014 Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) Common Performance Measurement Development, Tracking, and Warehousing System
AF081-015 Binaural Capture and Synthesis of Ambient Soundscapes
AF081-017 Space Environment Visualization
AF081-019 Interdomain routing for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs)
AF081-021 Modeling the Behavior of Terrorist Networks
AF081-022 Real Time Dynamic Network Topology Management
AF081-023 Unconventional Sensor Data Access and Integration
AF081-024 Defeating Emplaced Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) Using Fusion Algorithms
AF081-025 Multilayer approach for Efficient Distribution of Information over Wireless Networks
AF081-027 Mitigate IED threat by Leveraging an Effect-based Approach
AF081-028 Information Sharing between the Global Information Grid (GIG) and the System Wide Information Management (SWIM) system
AF081-029 Multi-Sensor Tracking and Fusion for Space Radar Application
AF081-031 Wideband,Lightweight, Beamformer
AF081-032 Material Process Improvement for High-Performance Optical Ceramic Transparent Armor
AF081-033 Modeling of Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Processes for Reliability Assessment
AF081-034 Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Techniques for Repaired Integrally Bladed Components
AF081-035 Low Cost Titanium Refinement and Processing
AF081-036 Development of Rapid Prototyping Process for Ceramic Cores for Investment Castings
AF081-037 High-Temperature, Abrasion-Resistant Coating
AF081-038 Modeling and Simulation for Robust Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) Manufacturing Processes
AF081-039 Rapid Method for Aircraft Fastener Surface Preparation
AF081-040 Wear-Resistant Coatings for Aircraft Structures
AF081-041 Innovative Coating Removal Techniques
AF081-044 High Speed Penetration Modeling
AF081-045 Penetration Survivable Advanced Energetics
AF081-047 Flight Control Technology for Tightly Controlled Hard Target Impact
AF081-049 Compact Multifunctional Ordnance for Urban Combat
AF081-050 Micro Munition Adaptive Structure Flight Control Technology
AF081-051 Processing for Flexible Sensors
AF081-053 Monitoring and Prognostics for Rolling Element Bearing Health in Gas Turbine Engines
AF081-054 Analyzing False Alarm Susceptibility and Assessing Mitigation and Prediction Strategies in Turbine Propulsion Health Management (PHM) Systems
AF081-055 Expanding the Processing Capability of On-Line Propulsion Health Management (PHM)
AF081-056 Integrally Bladed Rotor (IBR) Maintenance and Life Management
AF081-057 Chemical Kinetics for Vitiated Flows
AF081-058 High Temperature Permanent Magnet Actuator Motor
AF081-059 Starter/Generator Efficiency Enhancement for High Performance Tactical Aircraft
AF081-061 High Propellant Throughput Microthrusters for Next-Generation Nanosatellites
AF081-062 Bismuth Hall Thruster Contamination Characterization and Mitigation
AF081-063 Materials Development for High Performance Solid Rocket Motor Cases
AF081-064 Health Management Tools for Rocket Engine Turbomachinery
AF081-065 Multi-Mode Propulsion for Orbit Transfer, Maneuvering, Station Keeping and Attitude Control
AF081-066 Highly Reliable, Reusable, Non-Toxic Rocket Engine Ignition Systems
AF081-067 Experimental Characterization of Particle Dynamics Within Solid Rocket Motors
AF081-068 Combined GPS & Comm Antenna Technology
AF081-069 Improvements to Sense and Avoid (SAA) Systems for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
AF081-070 Automated Pixel Geo-Registration for Precise Imaging
AF081-071 Hyperspectral Persistent Surveillance Exploitation Algorithms
AF081-074 Electronic Bumper for Rotorcraft Brownout Approach and Landing
AF081-077 Innovative Micro Air Vehicles & Control Techniques for Urban Environments
AF081-078 Airborne Palliative for Helicopter Brownout Dust Abatement
AF081-079 Algorithm to Emulate RF Signal of Multiple Targets for Countermeasures Technique Assessment
AF081-082 Fiber-optic RF Distribution (FORD)&digital control signals network across a PCB in GPS User Eqpt
AF081-085 Two-Beam Transmit Satellite Antenna for Limited Field-of-View (FOV)
AF081-086 Distributed Control Actuator Aeroservoelasticity Methodology
AF081-087 Due Regard Technology for Unmanned Aerial Systems
AF081-088 Verification of Cold Working and Interference Levels at Fastener Holes
AF081-089 Design/Life Prediction Tools for Aircraft Structural Components with Engineered Residual Stresses
AF081-090 Distributed Satellite Resource Management for Defensive Counterspace
AF081-091 Optical Transmitter for Inter-satellite Communications
AF081-092 Lightweight Solar Array Structure for Thin Multijunction Solar Cells
AF081-093 Agile IR Filters
AF081-094 Novel Mitigation Techniques for Reconfigurable Computers for Space Based Applications
AF081-095 Advanced Cryogenic Refrigeration Technologies
AF081-096 Modeling, Simulation and Analysis Tools for Collaborative Systems
AF081-097 Secure Active Global Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) System.
AF081-100 Real-Time, Remote Electronics Test Capability
AF081-101 Development of Cad Plating Replacement with Alkaline Zinc-Nickel Electroplating for Threaded Fasteners/Components
AF081C-016 Affordable High-Performance Hearing Protection/Communication System
AF081C-042 Mold-in-Place Coatings
AF081C-043 Direct Part Manufacturing (DPM) for Nonstructural Components
AirForce SBIR 08.1 Topic Descriptions
AF081-001 TITLE: 3D Magnetic Field Modeling
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors, Weapons
OBJECTIVE: Develop greatly increased ability to model 3D magnetic fields by addressing the wave effects of Maxwell’s equations.
DESCRIPTION: Develop ability to model 3D magnetic fields in a way that addressers the wave effects in Maxwell’s equations. Almost all high-current pulsed power application systems are three-dimensional. While several well-benchmarked magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) codes, such as Mach2, exist for two-dimensional problems, three-dimensional capability is still sorely lacking. For example, Mach3 is still in its early stages of actual use, as opposed to initial development. One of the biggest problems with these codes is the magnetic field solver in three dimensions. The finite-difference, finite-volume, or finite-element approaches typically treat problems as quasi-stationary, that is, they ignore wave effects in Maxwell's equations because the time scales for propagation of electromagnetic waves over typical device distances are much shorter than the MHD time scales. Therefore, nonlinear diffusion equations apply, and they are solved. In vacuum, there is no physical conduction, and dielectric media are generally approximated by using a very high, but artificial, magnetic diffusion coefficient for them, so that the same equations are solved everywhere. This approach is intractable for most real problems, where the physical domain of the problem (that necessarily extends out to boundaries where the fields become negligible) is very much larger than typical diffusion scale lengths (skin depths), which must be accurately resolved. This problem is also referred to in the computational physics community as solving the vacuum field problem in a more computationally tractable way. This more tractable way could include massively parallel processing approaches, but should not simply use the brute force approach of very small time steps. Defense uses of this technology include simulation and virtual prototyping of very high current devices, such as intense radiation sources. This could be used, for example, for extending the detection range for explosives and other materials of concern, prompt sterilization of biological agents, and testing effects on electronics and materials. This could also be used to advance the technology and compactness of charged particle beam or hypervelocity projectile devices.
PHASE I: Requires innovative R&D of modeling 3D magnetic fields in a way that addresses wave effects of Maxwell’s equations. Solutions to test problems with other topologies should be calculated and compared with their known analytic solutions to fully demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach.
PHASE II: Extend to complex geometries, integrate with 3D-MHD code like Mach3 and implement major part, e.g., make automated mesh generator for convenient problem setup. Examples: baffled vacuum current feeds, varying thickness or shaped high current armatures (imploding liners, converging/diverging electrode gaps for propagating current discharges or magnetic pressure driven solid or plasma armatures).
PHASE III / DUAL USE: Military application: Military uses of this technology include simulation and virtual prototyping of very high current devices, such as intense radiation sources. Commercial application: More efficient and increased radiation sources, seismic probes, lightning simulators for Homeland Defense, law enforcement, public safety, oil prospecting, and counter mine systems.
REFERENCES:
1. H.Knoepfel, ""Pulsed High Magnetic Fields,"" North Holland Publishing Co, Amsterdam, London, p.87 (1970).
2. H. Knoepfel, Magnetic Fields: A Comprehensive Theoretical Treatise for Practical Use, John Wiley and Sons, Inc, NY, 2000.
3. R.E.Peterkin,Jr, M.H.Frese, and C.R.Sovinec, “Transport of magnetic flux in an arbitrary co-ordinate ALE code,” J.Comp.Phys. 140, 148 (1998).
4. Megagauss Conference Proceedings (every several years since 1980).
5. IEEE Pulsed Power Conference Proceedings (every odd year since 1970’s; e.g., 2007, 2005, 2003, etc, easy to find at www.ieee.org).
KEYWORDS: 3D modeling, magnetic fields, wave effects, Maxwell’s equations, 3D-MHD, magnetohydrodynamics; vacuum field problem, field diffusion
AF081-003 TITLE: Innovative Research for Crashworthy Stowable Troop Seating for Helicopters
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Biomedical, Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop innovative technology concepts for a crashworthy, lightweight, and rapidly stowable/removable helicopter troop seat with crash protection equivalent to the flight crew.
DESCRIPTION: Large Special Operations or Search & Rescue Helicopters are required to perform a variety of missions. The seats used to carry troops in these aircraft provide limited protection to the occupants as they do not adequately attenuate the energy during a crash pulse or restrain the crewmember during impact and roll-over events. Current cabin seating systems are installed prior to flight with little modification possible during the flight due to changing mission needs. The seats themselves do not provide a clear path for crewmember movement during flight.
Crashworthy, light-weight, and movable/stowable seating is required that allows safe transportation for troops, rapid egress/ingress, and stowing of the seats as necessary to allow for changing mission needs. Such mission needs include the addition of litter patients and payload insertion/extraction. The seating system shall safely secure the full anthropological range of the troop population, with or without full combat gear (body armor, life vest, helmet, 90-lb back pack, etc), but allow the crewmembers quick transition to a standing position for ingress/egress and secure stowage/removal of the seat to an unobtrusive area. The seating system should provide adequate troop protection and restraint during a crash pulse at least equivalent to the flight crew seats. To achieve acceptable troop seating performance levels for the varied missions, the solution should address crew anthropometry, ergonomics, restraint systems, equipment design, workload, human-seating interface issues, Human Systems Integration (HSI) and crash protection strategies.
This topic differs from AFI081-005, ” Mobile Aircrew Crashworthy Seating Systems for Helicopters” in it focuses solely on the troop seating systems. Troops need to be able to quickly get into their seats, strap in, stay there until they reach their destination, and then be able to quickly leave their seats and egress the aircraft, whereas mobile crewmembers need to be just that – mobile, in order to perform their duties. Troop seats must not block doors and only need to be moved/repositioned during mission changeovers such as going from troop transport to cargo transport, whereas the mobile crewmember work areas are in the aircraft door areas, which means that the seats need to be able to be easily and quickly moved out of the way for ingress/egress, hoist operations, aerial troop deployments, etc., Troop seating may be able to accommodate many using a single system, whereas the mobile crew seat needs to accommodate one individual at each position. Mobile crewmembers also have a set of life support equipment that is completely different from the troops that typically carry large and heavy backpacks, so troop seats need to be “deeper” to accommodate the backpacks and have a greater weight capacity than the mobile crew seats.
The Human Effectiveness Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory and Air Combat Command anticipates hosting an Open House Workshop during the last week in November or first week of December 2007 at Langley AFB and Ft. Eustis, VA that will provide additional information and address issues related to this SBIR topic. This Open House Workshop is open to prospective bidders on this topic, but the attendees must be US Citizens or permanent residents. The briefing information will also be available to prospective bidders who are not able to attend the Workshop. For additional information, please check for updates on the SBIR website or contact the topic author.
PHASE I: Develop innovative technology concepts for a crashworthy, lightweight, and rapidly stowable/removable troop seat that provides maximum protection to transported troops in full gear by attenuating the energy during a crash pulse and adequately restraining the crewmember during impact and roll-over events. Propose specific seat designs based on technology concepts.
PHASE II: Validate the solution(s) identified in Phase I to include modeling, testing, prototypes, and initial operational assessment to assure aircrew equipment/aircraft compatibility. Demonstrate the crashworthy aspects of the design. Finalize the design of a prototype device, and identify necessary aircraft structural requirements and potential modifications to accommodate the prototype.
PHASE III DUAL USE COMMERCIALIZATION: Military: Can be used in troop transport aircraft to provide crashworthy seating.
Civilian: Can be used in civilian rescue aircraft and for ground vehicles for firefighters and other rescuer transport vehicles. Troop seats are also used for civilians during mass evacuations in support of national disasters such as hurricanes.
REFERENCES:
1. JSSG-2010-7, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE JOINT SERVICE SPECIFICATION GUIDE: CREW SYSTEMS CRASH PROTECTION HANDBOOK, 30 October 1998.
2. ENGINEERING ANALYSIS OF CRASH INJURY IN ARMY CH-47 AIRCRAFT, USAAAVS Technical Report TR 78-4, Directorate for Investigation, Research & Analysis U.S. Army Agency for Aviation Safety, Fort Rucker, Alabama 36362, June 1978.
3. Hudson, Jeffrey A., Gregory F. Zehner, Kathleen M. Robinette. JSF CAESAR: Construction of a 3-D Anthropometric Sample for Design and Sizing of Joint Strike Fighter Pilot Clothing and Protective Equipment. AFRL-HE-WP-TR-2003-0142, 2003.
4. Life Cycle Systems Engineering, Air Force Instruction 63-1201, Secretary of the Air Force, 23 July 2007.
KEYWORDS: Helicopter seating, energy absorbing, troop seat, crash protection, impact protection
AF081-005 TITLE: Mobile Aircrew Crashworthy Seating Systems for Helicopters
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop innovative technologies that can be incorporated into a lightweight, crashworthy, and movable helicopter seating system for aircrew that require mobility during flight to perform their duties.
DESCRIPTION: Helicopter mobile aircrew members (e.g. gunners, flight engineers, load masters) located in the aircraft cabin need mobility to give flexibility to perform their mission duties while still being provided with adequate protection in the event of a severe maneuver, crash, or other impact event. These duties often involve reaching outside the aircraft while providing ground suppression fire using a .50 caliber or minigun, scanning for survivors, operating a rescue hoist, providing medical care, or conducting airdrop operations. Current crew cabin seating systems are either non-existent or installed for the entire mission prior to flight, and provide very limited impact/crash protection. Since these systems cannot easily be moved or removed during flight or they limit crewmember full range of motion which hinders them with their duties during troop transport and cargo loading/unloading. Many crew stations currently do not have any type of seating system which results in limited or no impact protection..
A crashworthy, light-weight, and movable/stowable seating prototype is required that allows the cabin crewmembers the freedom to perform the majority of his airborne tasks from the seat but also allows for easy and rapid repositioning or stowing of the seat to accommodate cargo/troop ingress/egress, hoist operations, etc. The prototype will also allow the crewmember quick transition to a standing position. The seating system should provide adequate crew protection and restraint during a crash pulse at least equivalent to the flight crew seats. The seating system also needs to accommodate the entire aircrew population while wearing all the necessary crew equipment (body armor, life vest, helmet, etc). To achieve acceptable seating system performance levels for the varied duties, the solution should address crew anthropometry, ergonomics, restraint systems, equipment design, workload, human-seating interface issues, Human Systems Integration (HSI) and crash protection strategies.
This topic differs from AF081-003, ”Innovative Research for Crashworthy Stowable Troop Seating for Helicopters” in it focuses solely on the mobile aircrew seating systems. Mobile crewmembers need to be just that – mobile, in order to perform their current duties (frequently and rapidly be able to get in and out of the seats), whereas troops need to be able to quickly get into their seats, strap in, and stay there until they reach their destination, and then be able to quickly leave their seats and egress the aircraft. The mobile crewmember work areas are right in the aircraft door areas, which means that the seats need to be able to be easily and quickly moved out of the way for ingress/egress, hoist operations, aerial troop deployments, etc., whereas the troop seats are not blocking doors and only need to be moved/repositioned during mission changeovers such as going from troop transport to cargo transport. The mobile crew seat needs to accommodate one individual at each position whereas troop seating may be able to accommodate many using a single system. Mobile crewmembers have a set of life support equipment that is completely different from the troops that typically carry large and heavy backpacks, so troop seats need to be “deeper” to accommodate the backpacks and have a greater weight capacity than the mobile crew seats.
The Human Effectiveness Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory and Air Combat Command anticipates hosting an Open House Workshop during the least week in November or first week of December 2007 at Langley AFB and Ft. Eustis, VA that will provide additional information and address issues related to this SBIR topic. This Open House Workshop is open to prospective bidders on this topic, but the attendees must be US Citizens or permanent residents. The briefing information will also be available to prospective bidders who are not able to attend the Workshop. For additional information, please check for updates on the SBIR website or contact the topic author.
PHASE I: Develop lightweight and mobile seating system concepts to provide maximum protection to the aircrew by attenuating crash energy by adequately restraining the crewmembers, yet provide adequate mobility to allow crewmembers to perform a majority of their airborne duties from the seated position.
PHASE II: Validate the solution(s) identified in Phase I to include modeling, testing, prototypes, and initial operational assessment to assure aircrew equipment/aircraft compatibility. Demonstrate the crashworthy aspects of the system. Identify aircraft structural requirements and potential modifications necessary to accommodate the system.
PHASE III DUAL USE COMMERCIALIZATION: Military: Use in fixed wing aircraft such as AC-130 where crew need mobility. Possible use in ground vehicles such as Humvees which can provide protection against accelerations from IEDs and crashes.
Commercial: Use in civilian rescue, law enforcement, life-flight, fire-fighting, and aerial cinematography aircraft. Seating systems for medical personnel in ambulances.
REFERENCES:
1. JSSG-2010-7, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE JOINT SERVICE SPECIFICATION GUIDE: CREW SYSTEMS CRASH PROTECTION HANDBOOK, 30 October 1998.
http://products.ihserc.com/Specs3j/controller?event=VIEW_DOC&prod=SPECS3&sess=277295949&linkSource=SEARCH&docId=LPRIIAAAAAAAAAAA
2. HH-47 Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR-X), GlobalSecurity.com, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/hh-47.htm
3. ENGINEERING ANALYSIS OF CRASH INJURY IN ARMY CH-47 AIRCRAFT, USAAAVS Technical Report TR 78-4, Directorate for Investigation, Research & Analysis U.S. Army Agency for Aviation Safety, Fort Rucker, Alabama 36362, June 1978.
4. Hudson, Jeffrey A., Gregory F. Zehner, Kathleen M. Robinette. JSF CAESAR: Construction of a 3-D Anthropometric Sample for Design and Sizing of Joint Strike Fighter Pilot Clothing and Protective Equipment. AFRL-HE-WP-TR-2003-0142, 2003.
5. Life Cycle Systems Engineering, Air Force Instruction 63-1201, Secretary of the Air Force, 23 July 2007.
KEYWORDS: Helicopter seating, energy absorbing, troop seat, crash protection, impact protection
AF081-006 TITLE: Advanced Fabric Technology Materials for Future Aircrew Life Support Equipment
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Materials/Processes, Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop advanced fabric technology materials for the Integrated Aircrew Ensemble (IAE).
DESCRIPTION: Legacy aircrew life support equipment (ALSE) uses older material technology that is often uncomfortable and distracting to aircrews. Current constant-wear anti-exposure suits are often unbearably hot while on the ground. Even standard ALSE configurations are unbearably hot. In addition, ALSE configurations are often bulky. The Air Force desires new fabric technology that prevents heat build-up, protects against cold weather, and provides water immersion protection while affording equal or better protection as legacy ALSE. Maintaining aircrew comfort is key in developing new materials. In addition, these fabric technology materials should improve durability while decreasing bulk.The emergence of new threats, expansion of operating environments and sortie duration, and the requirement to accommodate a broader user population has widened the gap between available flight equipment and needed capability. The current multilayered ensemble consists of poorly-integrated subcomponents which impair aircrew capability and performance, and are based on dated technologies and materials that are increasingly difficult to support. As a result, user surveys indicate that aircrews do not use their mandatory equipment in many instances because of real or perceived deficiencies with regard to bulk, thermal burden, and other distractions.
In June 07, the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical Biological Defense and Joint Program Manager for Individual Protection agreed to revise the chemical warfare protection requirement for IAE downward from previous cold war levels to a more realistic standard consistent with the updated USAF Chemical Warfare Continental US Operations (CONOPS). This development will enable the IAE program to provide aircrew a thinner, less burdensome chemical warfare solution. Fabric analysis is required to determine if an exposure suit or flight suit (with lightweight liner) could provide the required protection. A positive result will significantly increase aircrew performance/endurance during flight operations and eliminate the cost and manpower burden of maintaining stand alone chemical-warfare ensembles.
A key limiting factor of the current flight ensemble is the weight/bulk of the antiquated torso harness required for fighter aircraft. The harness’s fabric components and hardware date back to the Vietnam War, and program office engineers cannot validate the source or operational relevance of its stringent performance specifications. Meanwhile, commercial parachutists employ systems that weigh significantly less.
The current exposure suit is bulky, difficult to don/doff, reduces mobility, and causes significant thermal burden. The suit also has a history of requiring extensive repairs and developing pinholes that allow water to enter the suit. The neck and wrist seals are uncomfortable, easily damaged, and cause chaffing. In addition, aircrew wearers have limited capability for bladder relief when wearing the suit. The IAE requires a tailorable, scalable, cold-water immersion solution to enable the aircrew, with gloved hands, to survive exposure for up to 6 hours in water temperatures between 60 °F and 32 °F (Ref 4). The IAE material will enable the aircrew to safely withstand ejection at up to 600 Knots Equivalent Air Speed (KEAS). (Ref 4) The IAE material will provide heat and flame protection equal to the equipment it replaces; the materials will neither melt nor drip when exposed to heat and flame (Ref 4).The IAE material will be field modifiable to provide ballistic protection (Ref 4). The performing contractor will be encouraged to generate creative, innovative approaches to discover a novel fabric solution capable of achieving the qualified improvements in the technical parameters of interest.
PHASE I: The offerer will investigate one or more materials that are capable of meeting the above requirements. Those materials shall undergo testing and demonstrate improvement over those in use today. The offerer should choose the most promising to carry forward for further testing and fabrication.
PHASE II: Implement the Phase II Test Plan submitted at the end of Phase I. Fabricate a prototype IAE using the materials to be tested. Perform testing to reveal how well materails under test meet the objectively quantified technical parameters of interest. Deliver test results to the government along with the prototype IAE for further testing by the USAF.
PHASE III / DUAL USE: Military application: Air Force use will be for the Integrated Aircrew Ensemble. Commercial application: Dual use applications include commercial fabric technology for fabrics that provide cold weather protection while preventing heat build-up.
REFERENCES:
1. MIL-C-83429B Cloth, Plain, and Basket Weave, Aramid
2. Industry Day IAE Briefing, 10 Jan 07 San Antonio, albert.burnett@brooks.af.mil, 648 AESS/TAM
3. Integrated Aircrew Ensemble Initial Capabilities Document (18 May 06), randolph.loving@langley.af.mil, ACC/A8SR
4. Capability Development Document for the Integrated Aircrew Ensemble, 26 Jun 07, ACC/A8SR, Langley AFB VA, request document thru randolph.loving@langley.af.mil
KEYWORDS: aircrew,life support equipment,cold weather gear
AF081-007 TITLE: Solid State Night Vision Sensor
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors, Human Systems
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
OBJECTIVE: Develop a compact and high performance sensor that will replace the image intensifier tube in night vision goggles.
DESCRIPTION: To support night combat missions throughout the world and meet the requirements for warfighter readiness and mission performance a new generation of headmounted digital night-vision technology is envisioned. The critical, limiting factor of this technology is the sensor. Current sensor technology for head-mounted systems cannot provide the same performance, particularly at the lowest light levels, as compared to the latest image intensification technology. A high performance sensor could be integrated into a head-mounted night-vision optical system to truly provide a digital capability.
The limitations of the present analog approach (i.e. image-intensifier-based night-vision goggles) are the: size and weight, cost of the image intensifier tube, lack of processing capability, limited image transmission capability for sharing the visual image, limited imagery/symbology insertion capability, limited ways to obtain a polychromatic display, and limited spectrum.
Specific requirements for this effort are: light sensitivity, noise resolution (sensor element size), format size, total number of sensor elements, size, weight, power consumption, and cost shall be equivalent to or better than the current generation of image intensifier tube. Additionally, this effort requires potential for a standardized format signal output to feed a miniature display.
Desired spectral sensitivity range should be visible, near infrared, and short wave infrared (up to about 2 microns)
PHASE I: This phase shall require the vendor to design and demonstrate the technical feasibility of an innovative approach to sensor technology that will improve the image quality while reducing the size and overall power requirements of the NVGs.
PHASE II: Four prototypes of the optimized design shall be fabricated and delivered for incorporation into a yet-to-be determined head-mounted digital night-vision system for both laboratory testing and field demonstrations.
PHASE III / DUAL USE: Military application: Pilots, loadmasters, special operations ground personnel, base security Commercial application: Law enforcement, border patrol, fire-fighting, security, and crop dusting. Under certain conditions, the commercial pilots may also benefit from the implementation of such technology.
REFERENCES:
1. Craig, J.L. (2000). Integrated panoramic night vision goggle. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Symposium SAFE Association, http:www.safeassociation.com
2. Task, H.L. (2000). Integrated panoramic night vision goggles fixed-focus eyepieces: selecting a diopter setting. Proceedings of the 38th SAFE Association, http://www.safeassociation.com
3. J.W. Landry and N.B. Stetson (1997). Infrared imaging systems: Design, analysis, modeling, and testing VIII; Proceedings of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE Proceedings. Vol. 3063), Orlando, FL, APR. 23-24, 1997, (A97-34579 09-35), p. 257-268.
4. B.P. Butler and N.M. Allen (1997). Long-Duration Exposure Criteria for Head-Supported Mass; Army Aeromedical Research Lab., Fort Rucker, AL. (AD-A329484)
5. D. Kent and J. Jewell (1995). Lightweight helmet mounted night vision and FLIR imagery display systems. Helmet- and head-mounted displays and symbology design requirements II; Bellingham, WA, Proceedings of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE Proceedings. Vol. 2465), Orlando, FL, Apr 18-19, 1995, (A95-33965 08-54), p. 68-80.
KEYWORDS: night vision, image intensification, solid state sensor, miniature camera, CCD, CMOS, flat panel display
AF081-008 TITLE: Optical Limiters Without Focal Planes
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors, Human Systems
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
OBJECTIVE: To develop an optical limiter without a focusing lens that provides sufficient attenuation to prevent eye damage at incident radiation levels that would otherwise cause retinal injury.
DESCRIPTION: Laser eye protection (LEP) for military applications incorporates cutting edge technologies (reflective coatings and advanced absorbing dyes) to protect against lasers at wavelengths in the near-infrared (NIR) and visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, these technologies produce filters that always block the light for which they are designed whether under laser illumination or not. When these filters block visible light they have a negative impact on combat performance; this even happens with some filters intended only for NIR protection. These negative effects increase proportionally with the number of visible wavelengths blocked until the filter becomes opaque. Active filters, i.e. those blocking light only when illuminated with a laser, are a conceptual solution to this problem, however they currently do not respond fast enough to protect against pulsed laser systems (nsec time domain). Pulsed emissions can be created at numerous wavelengths, and the high peak power in very short pulses can cause retinal injury at average energy outputs that would not be injurious for a continuous wave emitter. A promising technology currently under development for protecting against pulsed lasers is optical limiters (OL). These materials absorb or scatter laser illumination in a nonlinear manner. At lower incident energy they let the light pass through but once the incident energy reaches a threshold, the amount of radiation blocked by these materials increases by an amount greater than subsequent increases in incident energy. For example, once the threshold energy is reached an OL may show a four-fold increase in protection in response to a doubling of incident energy. The very rapid response time with no need for a sensing and control system make optical limiters an attractive technology option for LEP. The problem with current OL technology for LEP is that the threshold for nonlinear behavior is much higher than the threshold for retinal injury. Because of this, current OL materials require a lens system to collect and focus the incident energy on the OL in order to create a nonlinear behavior at incident energies relevant to retinal protection. This requirement translates into heavy and bulky LEP devices. From a human factors standpoint, an OL that doesn't require a focal plane would result in LEP that is significantly smaller and lighter than current OL allow. The goal of this topic is to develop a lightweight, low profile optical limiter that provides an optical density (OD) >=4 at incident radiation levels sufficient to cause retinal injury and doesn't require focusing lenses. The response region of interest is 400 nm to 1400 nm and it must provide at least 15 percent ground state luminous transmittance in the visible spectrum. Innovative and creative approaches are highly encouraged in meeting these outlined objectives. Since this concept has never been attempted before, there is a degree of technical risk which the proposal submitters must be aware of and willing to accept.
PHASE I: Perform a technology feasibility assessment. Deliver a concept design for the OL prototype and data to support the feasibility assessment in a technical report. A market analysis for potential civilian applications as part of the Phase I technical report is encouraged.
PHASE II: Execute the technology development plan described in a Phase II proposal. Fabricate, demonstrate and deliver a prototype of the proposed solution in addition to validating, measured performance data in a final technical report. The Phase II deliverable is not expected to be production ready but some discussion of remaining development work required to achieve that end is encouraged.
PHASE III / DUAL USE: Military application: The Air Force, Army, and Navy all have operational requirements for LEP for combat personnel. The Air Force requirements are not releasable to the general public. Commercial application: Potentially any field that employs lasers/laser eye protection (e.g. medical laser surgery, dental laser surgery, laser operators, lab technicians, welding, manufacturing, and laser researchers).
REFERENCES:
1. Sheehy, James B. and Morway, Phyllis E. “Laser-protective technologies and their impact on low-light level visual performance.” in Laser-Inflicted Eye Injuries: Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment, SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2674, pp 208-218, (1996).
2. Aircrew visor performance specification, MIL-V-43511C. Google ""MIL-V-43511C Specification.""
3. ANSI Standard Z136.1. American National Standard for the Safe Use of Lasers. American National Standards Institute, Inc., (2000).
4. K. Mansour, M. J. Soileau, and E. W. Van Stryland, ""Nonlinear optical properties of carbon-black suspensions (ink),"" J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 9, 1100- (1992).
5. D. Vincent, S. Petit, and S. L. Chin, ""Optical Limiting Studies in a Carbon-Black Suspension for Subnanosecond and Subpicosecond Laser Pulses ,"" Appl. Opt. 41, 2944-2946 (2002).
KEYWORDS: Laser eye protection (LEP), optical limiter, luminous transmittance, optical density, near-infrared radiation, visible radiation, retinal injury
AF081-009 TITLE: Low-Power Direct-View Flexible Displays
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop non-glass, ejection-safe digital display to replace printed paper maps and checklists on pilots’ knees in tactical cockpits and enable a large display to be rolled up for stowage.
DESCRIPTION: Displays are an important part of the warfighter-to-global information grid (GIG) interface and have a major impact on the situational awareness of pilots, crews, and ground-based operators. There are situations where portable and wearable displays are needed that are flexible (i.e. conformable or rollable), exhibit resistance to breakage, and have low space-weight-and-power (SWaP) while simultaneously meeting performance requirements such as environmental, sunlight-readability, and night vision compatibility. Currently fielded displays tend to break because they are fabricated on glass and do not have low-enough SWaP for applications in which the display must be worn or carried. Flexible displays have an electronic backplane fabricated on plastic or steel foil that drives an electro-optical frontplane based on any of several technologies, each of which has limitations. These frontplane technologies and their limitations include electronic inks (problem: lack of color and video operation), cholesteric liquid crystals (problem: low frame rate and color saturation), and organic light emitting diodes (problem: low lifetime and lack of efficient blue emitter). The backplanes comprise thin-film transistor (TFT) pixel drive circuitry (~ 10-µm thick) that is difficult to fabricate on plastic or metal foil and may be easily broken or degraded by flexing. The intent of this Flexible Displays SBIR topic is to provide the warfighter wearable direct-view information capability with a 3-4 in. diagonal image size for wrist worn usage, a 7-8 in. size for knee-top, and 8-10 in. for hand-held, with the larger sizes being rollable for stowage in small form factor.
Threshold (minimum) performance features to achieve these uses are as follows: conformable (4-in. radius of curvature) 3-4 in. diagonal black-white image size having spatial, grayscale, and temporal resolution of 320x240 pixels/image, 4-bits/pixel, and 2 Hz frame rate. The objective (goal) performance features are: repetitive (10,000 times) rollability (1-in. radius of curvature), 7-10 in. diagonal full-color image size having resolution of 1024x768 pixels/image, 24-bits/pixel, and 30 Hz video frame rate.
The currently fielded displays are built on glass substrates. The glass makes the displays rigid & easily breakable, has a la