Pixel Abstraction Software and Test Platform Development for Advanced Seeker Image Processing

Tessera, Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corporation are currently developing an advanced systolic array missile seeker system for massively parallel resolution of IR images for end-game targeting. The program involves the utilization of Tessera’s high density advanced packaging to allow expansion from the 1024 processing elements on the current Lockheed Martin SPAR-X module, to 4096 processing elements. This fourfold increase in processing elements will provide a processing platform suitable for executing pixel abstraction software, providing significant improvements in missile seeker detection and discrimination capabilities using existing sensor technologies. Tessera was awarded a Phase I SBIR program to analyze and design a thermal management solution for a software development platform that will allow continuous operation of the new processing module to support advanced pixel abstraction software development. Since the missile processing electronics are passively cooled to operate only for the short times associated with an interceptor mission, active electronics cooling methods must be developed to allow continuous operation needed for software development. This Phase II proposal offers to fabricate the actively cooled software development platforms as designed in the Phase I effort, and to demonstrate system operation through development of pixel abstraction software on the development platform. The pixel abstraction software will be developed by Lockheed Martin through a Tessera subcontract.