Hardware Component Technology to Enable SUAV/SUGV Based Geo-location and Hand-off

Chatten Associates proposes to develop a Geo-Indexed Gimbaled Instrument: a stabilized gimbal with a camera and laser range finder payload that is capable of precisely geo-locating anything in its view. The instrument can be easily integrated onto a variety of small unmanned ground vehicles (SUGV) or small unmanned air vehicles (SUAV) in both the current and future force. In addition to providing precise target location, the instrument is an inherently multifunctional payload that can also be used as an observer/driver camera, for identifying navigational waypoints, or as a remote sentry system. There is currently no available sensor gimbal that meets all the specifications required for this application (combination of sensors, speed, precision, low power, and light weight). We are proposing an essential hardware building block to enable target geo-location and hand-off of varying levels of autonomy using a variety of unmanned platforms, whether they are tele-operated, semi- or fully-autonomous.