The Department of Defense (DoD), specifically the United States Air Force (USAF), is seeking innovative solutions through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop an automated robotic system for correcting optical distortions in advanced canopy transparencies. The primary objective is to enhance the production process for fighter aircraft canopies made from polycarbonate and acrylic substrates, which currently face significant challenges due to manual sanding and polishing methods that create production bottlenecks. This initiative is critical for ensuring the quality and performance of fighter weapon systems, as optical clarity is essential for pilot visibility and safety. Interested applicants must submit their proposals by November 6, 2024, and can find more information on the solicitation at the DoD SBIR website.

## Description

This project aims to develop a robotic system capable of removing optical distortions in advanced canopy transparencies for DoD applications. The most challenging transparency designs to produce are for fighter weapon systems and have a significant amount of curvature and depth of draw to provide the pilot with sufficient field of view. Two base substrate materials are utilized for fighter transparency designs, including polycarbonate and acrylic. In both cases, the base substrate is formed into the final shape through multiple processes, which could include intermediate laminating steps, before optical distortions are removed by manual sanding and polishing. The sanding and polishing step is extremely artisanal and does not have a high level of success, resulting in a production bottleneck. An additional challenge for the process of removing optical distortions is related to the inspections, which is usually based on distortion measurements performed from the perspective of the pilots line of sight. This limited viewing perspective can cause difficulties for the artisan to correctly identify the optical distortion and gauge success during the removal process. 

## Objective

This topic seeks to develop a robotic system capable of removing optical distortions in advanced canopy transparencies for DoD applications utilizing acrylic and polycarbonate substrate materials. 

## Phase I

As this is a Direct-to-Phase-II (D2P2) topic, no Phase I awards will be made as a result of this topic. To qualify for this D2P2 topic, the Air Force expects the applicant(s) to demonstrate feasibility by means of a prior &ldquo;Phase I-type&rdquo; effort that does not constitute work undertaken as part of a prior or ongoing SBIR/STTR funding agreement. The applicant(s) must show evidence of previous Research and Development efforts demonstrating their capability to machine highly contoured components (e.g., windows for sensor, lenses for optical or laser applications, etc.,). &quot;Phase I-type&quot; work must describe the target stakeholder and application, requirements for the application of interest, inspection protocol and resulting data, as well as details on the automation process. The applicant(s) shall describe technical challenges they are expected to encounter when adapting the automation technology for the transparency application of interest. Potential solutions and the corresponding risk should be presented for all self-identified technical challenges. 

## Phase II

In the Phase II effort, the awardee(s) shall demonstrate its automated distortion correction technology on a subscale component identified during the requirements definition phase of the program. At a minimum, it is desired that the subscale component be comprised of a forward section of a relevant DoD fighter system's canopy transparency as determined by the contractor and Air Force team. The awardee(s) shall partner with a transparency manufacturer and a DoD aerospace Original Equipment Manufacturer to acquire the demonstrator component and relevant optical requirements. If a partner OEM is not identified, the Air Force may not be able to provide optical requirements for the demonstrator component because of OEM proprietary information and program sensitivities. If this is the case, the awardee(s) shall coordinate with the transparency manufacturer to set representative optical requirements based on the manufacturer's past experience. Compliance with optical requirements shall include grid line slope measurements at a minimum. The offeror should budget and plan for additional optical testing as recommended by the transparency manufacturer. The final system should be capable of meeting the following target or threshold requirements: (TARGET) The target system should be capable of identifying optical distortions in the canopy transparency and developing automated sanding/polishing protocol for removing detected anomalies. The initial SBIR prototype system may be subscale but must be readily scalable with readily available sensors and robotics to address full-sized production transparencies on the order of 12-foot (length) x 4-foot (width) x 3-foot (height), not including the additional space required for support fixturing used in the manufacturing environment. The distortion sensor must be capable of correlating measurements to final inspection protocol, which use Grid Line Slope (ASTM F2156-17) and Binocular Vergence from the perspective of the pilot's line of sight. (THRESHOLD) The threshold system should be capable of utilizing data from Grid Line Slope (ASTM F2156-17) and Binocular Vergence acceptance tests to develop automated sanding/polishing protocol. The acceptance tests for optical compliance are performed on each transparency during the production process using the pilot's line of sight as the viewing perspective. 

## Phase III: Dual Use Applications

The awardee(s) can expect to pursue commercialization of the technology developed in Phase II in order to transition the technology to DoD transparency manufacturers. Direct access with end users and government customers will be provided with opportunities to receive Phase III awards for providing the government additional research &amp; development, or direct procurement of products and services developed in coordination with the program. In Phase-III, the awardee(s) must scale up the prototype system and integrate it with current manufacturing operations. Additionally, the system shall be validated and verified in the production environment. Comprehensive technical manuals shall be delivered as a final product.

Automated Correction of Optical Distortions in Canopy Transparencies

SBIR Opportunity Analysis

SBIR Documents

Related SBIR/STTR Opportunities

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