NASA SBIR 2008 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Nanohmics, Inc.
6201 East Oltorf Street, Suite 400
Austin, TX 78741 - 1222
(512) 389-9990

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Andrew Milder
amilder@nanohmics.com
6201 East Oltorf Street, Suite 400
Austin, TX 78741 - 1222
(512) 389-9990

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 3

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
Autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic systems require information about their surroundings in order to navigate properly. A video camera machine vision system can supply position information of external objects, but no range information. Ideally, a system that, in one package, provides 3-dimensional relative information about external objects is needed. Existing laser range finding systems are expensive and consume large amounts of power. Additionally, they are sensitive to only a narrow solid angle, and must be scanned mechanically in order to provide more than a single dimension of depth information. Nanohmics proposes to design an electro-optical imaging device capable of autonomously determining the range to objects in a scene without the use of active emitters or multiple apertures. The novel, automated, low-power imaging system is based on a plenoptic camera design, and will be simple to implement, providing the range to selected objects in the field of view. Nanohmics will work towards presenting a 3D map of the field-of-view plus range – to be used at a later time to interface with the autonomous vehicle for navigation and obstacle avoidance. The system will be designed so that it is inexpensive, easy to integrate with existing/planned planetary rovers, rugged, and low in maintenance. Nanohmics will develop a custom optical system along with embedded digital signal processing electronics and a unique opto-mechanical design; and develop firmware/software algorithms for determining range to objects within the system field-of-view. Optionally the processed image will be coupled with automatic detection, recognition, and avoidance algorithms.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Machine vision and robotics are becoming more pervasive in industrial applications. The ability to create a depth map of a scene has many applications in industrial robotics. The driving application is the desire to quickly and accurately position robotic manipulators in a 3-dimensional environment without colliding with objects. The factor currently limiting further robotic applications is the inability to easily handle an unknown, "messy" environment. Current applications require a well-defined and orderly initial object set-up. The imaging rangefinder system can provide the information needed to allow industrial applications that do not have a perfectly defined initial set-up. If successful, the market size is sufficiently large for this small, low cost system to allow rapid capitalization and ramp up to production level quantities in a short period of time. At the end of the Phase I program, Nanohmics will identify a major defense contractor as a potential commercial partner that is capable of further developing the passive imaging range-finder to push it through the DoD acquisition cycles. Robots deployed for planetary exploration missions, such as the Mars Rovers, must be able to autonomously avoid rocks, crevices, holes and cliffs. Technology developed during the Phase I SBIR program could be utilized to extend the mission life of robots deployed to planets where remote communication with the robot is not practical because of time delay and power limitations.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Machine vision and robotics are becoming more pervasive in industrial applications. The ability to create a depth map of a scene has many applications in industrial robotics. The driving application is the desire to quickly and accurately position robotic manipulators in a 3-dimensional environment without colliding with objects. The factor currently limiting further robotic applications is the inability to easily handle an unknown, "messy" environment. Current applications require a well-defined and orderly initial object set-up. The imaging rangefinder system can provide the information needed to allow industrial applications that do not have a perfectly defined initial set-up. If successful, the market size is sufficiently large for this small, low cost system to allow rapid capitalization and ramp up to production level quantities in a short period of time. At the end of the Phase I program, Nanohmics will identify a major defense contractor as a potential commercial partner that is capable of further developing the passive imaging range-finder to push it through the DoD acquisition cycles. Robots deployed for planetary exploration missions, such as the Mars Rovers, must be able to autonomously avoid rocks, crevices, holes and cliffs. Technology developed during the Phase I SBIR program could be utilized to extend the mission life of robots deployed to planets where remote communication with the robot is not practical because of time delay and power limitations.

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Optical Photonics