Airborne Vision Insect Optic Nautical Precision Landing

Addressing the Navy need for a fast initializing, real-time, precision ship-relative navigation (PS-RN) system, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to advance development in Phase II of the Airborne Vision Insect Optic Nautical Precision Landing (AVION-PL) sensor, proven feasible in Phase I, for the Navy’s Sea-based Automatic Landing Recovery System (SALRS). AVION-PL is based on novel compound-eye insect optics that are low in size, weight, and power. Through modelling and experimental testing in Phase I, POC has achieved 0.08° angular precision, 14% at 7 km to 1% at 0.5 km range estimation error, and 6.7 ms pose estimation algorithm run time over a 40°×40° field of view. In Phase II, POC will build on these results to meet or exceed the Navy’s requirements for fast initialization and tracking without gimbals and to mature AVION-PL for future integration and testing for Navy’s SALRS program. In Phase II, an AVION-PL prototype will be built for testing in a laboratory and surrogate landing scenarios, as well as for simulation over a full range of lighting and weather conditions. POC will work with prime contractors to transition the technology to Navy unmanned aerial vehicle programs in Phase III.