Low Cost, High Reliability Proximity Switches

We propose to produce a new family of compensated Doppler-effect Ultrasonic proximity switches. Our design will utilize all COTS sub-components to deliver a product with very low cost and high reliability. It incorporates EMI shielding, optoelectronic isolation, and hermetic encapsulation, our advanced non-contact proximity sensor is designed to operate in harsh and corrosive maritime environments. This sensor will be reconfigurable as a drop-in replacement for existing 2-wire legacy hardware, as well as higher functionality for application specification. This approach is closely coupled with our recent progress in acoustic sensors and signal processing technology, enabling us to push the sensor performance well beyond the current state-of-the-art. In the Phase I, we will demonstrate this high reliability proximity switch functionality and form factor that are well suited for easy replacement of the old version of Navy limit switches. In the Phase II, we will perform full MIL-spec qualification and design optimization iterations for a wide variety of configurations and sizes, and the final products having utility for the numerous applications will be produced for delivery.