Optical Bearing Strength Autonomous Measurement System

To address the Navy need for a small, self-contained geotechnical measurement system to help amphibious operations planners collect adequate knowledge of soil strength in landing areas, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Optical Bearing Strength Autonomous Measurement (OBSAM) System. This system is based on a new laser sensor, that measures track depth imprinted in a shallow water seafloor and in a beach with a special loaded wheel. The track depth is correlated with cone index. The innovations in the distance sensor and packaging design enable the OBSAM system, driven by an unmanned ground robotic platform, to provide direct quantitative measurement of bearing strength with high spatial resolution both in subaerial and submerged areas. As a result, this system offers autonomous operation without participation of human operators, continuous measurement of soil strength parameters compatible with the NRMM II trafficability model, and applicability throughout an entire beach profile, which directly addresses the Oceanographer of the Navy acquisition program requirements. In Phase I, POC will demonstrate the feasibility of the OBSAM system prototype in laboratory and field experiments. In Phase II, POC plans to develop a fully functional prototype ready for testing on Navy sites.