Window-glass Telescope for Highly-compensated Ubiquitous Sensing (WITH US)
ID: HR0011ST2024D-03Type: Phase I
Overview

Topic

Window-glass Telescope for Highly-compensated Ubiquitous Sensing (WITH US)

Agency

Department of DefenseN/A

Program

Type: STTRPhase: Phase IYear: 2024

Topic Link

https://www.sbir.gov/node/2608387

Additional Information

https://www.defensesbirsttr.mil/SBIR-STTR/Opportunities/
Timeline
    Description

    The Department of Defense (DOD) is seeking proposals for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I program. The specific topic of the solicitation is the "Window-glass Telescope for Highly-compensated Ubiquitous Sensing (WITH US)". The objective of this program is to design, develop, and study a large collecting area telescope system that can detect faint objects in space using window(s) already installed on commercial office buildings. The goal is to utilize the massive quantity of in-situ commercial building windows as a tool for sensing faint objects or as a relay optic for sending light to a remote object. The solicitation seeks proposals to design a machine-learning or other system to characterize the surface shape of window glass, design a computational imaging system for hardware or numerical corrections, and design the physical realization of the telescope system. The project duration for Phase I is 12 months, and successful proposals should include modeling and simulation to achieve the goals. Phase II will further develop modeling methods and validate capabilities through hardware design, construction, and testing of prototype subsystems. The Phase II base effort should include a scalability study and a small-scale laboratory demonstration. The Phase II option effort should include a task dedicated to determining the feasibility of integrating components into a fieldable system capable of performing astronomical measurements. The ultimate goal is to commercialize the concept and apply it to various imaging applications, including ground-based Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and satellite surveillance.

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