Compact Scalable Navigation and Stabilization System for Spectral Imagers

NovaSol (Formerly Innovative Technical Solutions, Inc.)

Honolulu, HI

The COMPact Airborne Stabilization System (COMPASS) is an integrated stabilization/navigation system for small aircraft and UAV platforms that corrects the optical path of pushbroom-type imaging sensors in real time.

• The complete prototype system was successfully tested with a hyperspectral sensor in Hawaii; several data acquisition missions were flown, acquiring over 6.2 GBytes of HSI data.
• COMPASS integrates IMU, GPS, motion control, opto-mechanical gimbal and user interface to provide a modular system for various sensor and aircraft types.
• The system was designed to correct typical aircraft motion in three axes (pitch, yaw, roll) at rates of up to 25 deg/s (roll) and at pointing accuracies of 0.3 mrad.
• The mechanical interface allows many existing and planned sensors to be used with COMPASS.
• COMPASS includes complete mission planning tools. The operator selects pre-programmed track lines, the system detects when that track line is flown and automatically activates the imaging sensor via ethernet.

• Several commercial and government entities have shown strong interest in COMPASS.
• NovaSol is providing internal funding for continued system support and development.
• A marketing and teaming agreement with a commercial remote sensing company is under negotiation.

• COMPASS will add value to existing government sensors by producing fully geo-referenced data sets with higher reliability and quality in less time.
• HSI and other imaging data can be acquired without artifacts caused by aircraft motion. Image and spectral data can be geo-located, and directly tied to satellite, ground truth, and other existing data sources.
• COMPASS provides a sensor-independent interface and navigation tool for simplified mission planning and execution.
  

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