NEXT GENERATION, UAV-CLASS OZONE PHOTOMETER PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A COMPACT, RUGGED, R…

Public award description

NEXT GENERATION, UAV-CLASS OZONE PHOTOMETER PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A COMPACT, RUGGED, RAPID-RESPONSE, AUTONOMOUS SENSOR FOR IN-SITU MONITORING OF AMBIENT O3 FROM UAVS. OUR INNOVATION IS TO COMBINE NEWLY AVAILABLE UV LIGHT EMITTING DIODES (LEDS) WITH MINIATURIZED, LOW POWER, HIGH SENSITIVITY SIGNAL DETECTION ELECTRONICS TO CREATE A NEXT GENERATION, UAV-CLASS, PHOTOMETER FOR O3. THE ADVENT OF UV LEDS ENABLES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VERY COMPACT AND HIGHLY SENSITIVE MONITOR FOR AMBIENT O3. AN LED-BASED SENSOR HAS MANY ADVANTAGES OVER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES AND IS HIGHLY SUITABLE FOR DEPLOYMENT IN UAVS. THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF A BREADBOARD SENSOR AND CREATE A DETAILED CONCEPTUAL PLAN FOR A FIELDABLE PROTOTYPE. THE TRL AT THE END OF PHASE I WILL BE LEVEL 4. THE PHASE II PROGRAM WILL FABRICATE A PROTOTYPE THAT CAN BE FIELD DEMONSTRATED ON AN AIRCRAFT. THE TRL AT THE END OF PHASE II WILL BE LEVEL 6. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF PHASES I AND II WILL RESULT IN A RIGOROUSLY VALIDATED PROTOTYPE SENSOR THAT CAN MONITOR AMBIENT O3 WITH HIGH SPEED AND PRECISION. THE SENSOR ARCHITECTURE CAN BE EASILY MODIFIED TO MEASURE OTHER SPECIES. USING NEW MID-IR LEDS, THE PHOTOMETER CAN MONITOR TRACE GASES SUCH AS CO2 AND CO.