Effects Delivery (EffecDiv) Payloads for Small Unmanned Air Vehicles

In recent years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a key component in the Army"s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) infrastructure. Small, hand-launchable UAVs in particular are a key component as they allow individual units to gather critical information from safe operational distances. However, the limited size, weight, and power (SWaP) resources of small UAVs has led to a disparity in capabilities between them and the larger UAVs controlled at the Brigade or higher echelon. In order to bridge this capabilities gap, Toyon proposes to develop an EffectDiv (Effects Delivery) device. This modular, self-contained payload will extend small UAV capabilities beyond the current simple payloads by integrating video processing for target detection and tracking, automated routing algorithms to search, detect, and track targets, a Patent Pending GPS attitude (GPS/A) sensor for high accuracy geo-location, and H.264 for high definition (HD) video compression. These capabilities will enable the user to rapidly detect, geo-locate, and track targets of interest. They can then hand-off target information to the unit effects network to support collaborative target engagement and effects delivery. This will be implemented on a heterogeneous computing platform, employing a mixture of both FPGAs and processors, to minimize the system"s SWaP. The payload will implement standards-based interfaces and protocols to maximize inter-operability with existing systems and networks.