WHEEL OF FORTUNE

VERY LOW COST (<$500) REAL-TIME MACHINE VISION SYSTEMS FOR OBJECT ACQUISITION, CLASSIFICATION, AND MEASUREMENT IN UNCONSTRAINED ENVIRONMENTS WILL, IN THE NEAR FUTURE, BE ESSENTIAL FOR APPLICATIONS SUCH AS AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS (SELF-DIRECTED MUNITIONS, HOME CLEANING ROBOTS, AUTOMOBILE AUTOPILOTS, ETC.), SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS (MILITARY SITE SECURITY, BORDER PATROL, LAW ENFORCEMENT, ETC.), AND INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS(GENERAL-PURPOSE MECHANICAL ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS, MAIL HANDLING SYSTEMS, ETC.). NONETHELESS, THE ADVENT OF SUCH MACHINE VISION SYSTEMS CURRENTLY SEEMS TO MANY TO BE A DECADE OR MORE AWAY. THIS PROJECT BOLDLY ADDRESSES THIS MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL SHORTFALL VIA A RADICALLY DIFFERENT APPROACH: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VERY LOW COST VISION SYSTEM THAT EXPLOITS INSIGHTS GAINED FROM VISION NEUROSCIENCE. SPECIFICALLY, WE SHALL DEVELOP AN AGILE BINOCULAR EYEBALL/PROCESSOR SYSTEM WITH OBJECT ACQUISITION, OBJECT RECOGNITION, OBJECT MEASUREMENT, OBJECT TRACKING, AND SENSOR MOTION DETERMINATION CAPABILITIES. THE EXPECTED HIGH OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE SENSOR DERIVES FROM RECENT BREAKTHROUGH RESEARCH ON AUTONOMOUSLY MANEUVERED AGILE FOVEATED SENSORS. THE LOW COST OF THE SENSOR DERIVES FROM A RADICALLY NEW DESIGN APPROACH INVOLVING THE USE OF A SPINNING MECHANICAL WHEEL WHICH FUNCTIONS AS AN INCOHERENT SPATIAL LIGHT DIRECTOR AND COLOR FILTER. THE OUTPUT OF PHASES I AND II OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE A PREPRODUCTION PROTOTYPE SENSOR THAT WILL BE DEMONSTRATED IN A REALISTIC UNCONSTRAINED ENVIRONMENT. IN PHASE III WE ANTICIPATE DEVELOPING A PILOT PRODUCTION VERSION OF THIS SYSTEM TO BE SOLD TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND TO MANUFACTURERS OF ROBOTS, SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT, AND INDUSTRIAL INSPECTION SYSTEMS. AS EXPERIENCE IS GAINED BY OUR CUSTOMERS, THE SENSOR DESIGN(S) WILL EVOLVE INTO VERSIONS THAT ARE PRODUCED IN LARGE QUANTITIES.