The Department of Defense, specifically the Navy, is seeking proposals for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focused on developing a novel autonomous dead reckoning navigation system for hypersonic vehicles. The objective is to create a state-of-the-art navigation capability that enhances accuracy over longer distances, utilizing discrete updates from various sensors while minimizing reliance on external references like GPS. This technology is crucial for advancing navigation systems in defense applications and has potential commercial uses in areas such as ocean exploration and autonomous vehicles. The solicitation is currently in pre-release, with proposals due by February 5, 2025, and further details can be found at the provided source link.

## Description

Development of a novel, dead reckoning navigation technique may provide an increase in robust updates, at discrete intervals, to aid in the navigation of a hypersonic vehicle. These discrete interval updates provide time, vector (direction), and velocity information of the system&rsquo;s current position. Dead reckoning uses these updates, with the previous update as a reference, to identify the vehicle&rsquo;s current position. Dead reckoning is known to be accurate only over short distances. Corrections from navigation aids (such as GPS) are needed to fix the drift error over longer distances. With the use of increased accuracy, the hypersonic vehicle can perform autonomous travel for longer distances. While an increase in Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) performance helps the dead reckoning accuracy, IMU accuracy alone may lack the unique innovation desired. Additional sensor information for drift error correction in the IMU allows for increased accuracy, redundance in sensor options, and resilience from external effects. Individual sensors shall utilize a modular design that is integratable with multiple different types of IMUs to show interoperability. Software used to communicate with the IMU and other hardware shall be open source and/or with no proprietary limitations that would require significant changes to any system it may be integrated. A successful autonomous dead reckoning travel advancement may utilize sensory updates in the local area of the hypersonic vehicle such as temperature, altitude, vibrations, light produced by/near the hypersonic vehicle, etc. Updates that do not apply are external feedback from a known reference outside the local area of the hypersonic vehicle such as GPS, antennas on the ground or in space, light from stars, etc. Work produced in Phase II may become classified. Note: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. owned and operated with no foreign influence as defined by 32 U.S.C. &sect; 2004.20 et seq., National Industrial Security Program Executive Agent and Operating Manual, unless acceptable mitigating procedures can and have been implemented and approved by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) formerly Defense Security Service (DSS). The selected contractor must be able to acquire and maintain a secret level facility and Personnel Security Clearances. This will allow contractor personnel to perform on advanced phases of this project as set forth by DCSA and SSP in order to gain access to classified information pertaining to the national defense of the United States and its allies; this will be an inherent requirement. The selected company will be required to safeguard classified material during the advanced phases of this contract IAW the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), which can be found at Title 32, Part 2004.20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

## Objective

Develop a novel, State Of The Art (SOTA) autonomous navigation capability, utilizing dead reckoning, to improve navigation accuracy, over longer distances, while traveling in a hypersonic regime.

## Phase I

Develop a concept for a technology with superior accuracy over long distances to SOTA dead reckoning navigation systems. The technology shall show improvement in technical parameters while maintaining similar Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) compared to current, commercially available, SOTA technology. The technical parameters will vary significantly based on the type of dead reckoning technology, and will be compared to similar current SOTA technology in an &ldquo;apples to apples&rdquo; comparison. The following SWaP constraints should be considered:Size of the design should fit within 64 inches cubed (4 inches in all axis).Weight of the design should weigh less than three pounds.Power of the design should draw less than 100 Watts.These considerations should be treated as bare minimum requirements, and may change based on the type of technology selected. If awarded a Phase I, reduction in SWaP is important for Phase II. The Phase I Option, if exercised, will include the initial design specifications and capabilities description to build a prototype solution in Phase II.

## Phase II

Develop any hardware and/or software required to demonstrate a refined prototype solution for the advanced dead reckoning navigation system. The refined prototype shall not use any known external references other than initial starting position and IMU data, unless previously approved by the Government Technical Point of Contact (TPOC). Identify a work plan that provides proof of concept to meet the performance goals and reduce SWaP. Focus on reduced SWaP and increased accuracy of dead reckoning algorithms while operating in a hypersonic regime. The prototype hardware, software, and all modeling and simulation, shall be delivered to show technically measurable improvements to dead reckoning navigation. By the end of Phase II, the final prototype is intended to be integrated into test asset(s) for verification and validation of the technology. It is probable that the work under this effort will be classified under Phase II (see Description section for details).

## Phase III: Dual Use Applications

Support the government in transitioning the technology for government use. The transitioned product is expected to be able to support current and future weapon and space systems, as well as a wide range of other air, land, and sea-based systems. Commercial applications should be considered for transition (i.e., ocean exploration, space exploration, commercial autonomous vehicles, and mapping systems). This technology has use in the Department of Defense (DoD) and also has significant interest in industry from many autonomous navigations such as deep sea and deep space.

Novel Autonomous Dead Reckoning Navigation

SBIR Opportunity Analysis

SBIR Documents

Related SBIR/STTR Opportunities

Opportunity Snapshot

Key Dates