Navigation Solutions by Terrain Imaging

MTL and Ball Aerospace present a revolutionary method of processing image sensor information, to aid an inertial measurement unit's stability and navigation functions. SPREE fuses optical flow techniques with an extremely rapid, accurate imageregistration process developed under National Reconnaissance Office and AFRL/IF programs. The rapid registration process transforms the image-processing problem into a signal-processing domain, where real-time image registration techniques revealegomotion states. The innovative optical flow algorithms optimize the egomotion estimation accuracy. The Phase I Objectives are (1) Define requirements, to lay the groundwork for testing feasibility and to produce a preliminary requirementsspecification, (2) Implement, test, and assess SPREE Concepts, to build, evaluate and demonstrate a SPREE prototype and determine functional and performance feasibility, (3) Produce a preliminary proof-of-principals (POP) design for Phase II, by refiningand supplementing the prototype, and (4) Assess commercialization potential, to determine SPREE market potential and produce a preliminary commercialization (product) plan. The Phase I results will be (a) experimental test and analysis results forming thefeasibility assessment, (b) a Phase II preliminary POP design, (c) an initial product plan, and (d) a prototype and its demonstration, to explicitly prove SPREE feasibility to AFRL, users they support, and commercial interests. SPREE can processvehicle-based imaging sensor output to support military navigation, reconnaissance, tactical and strategic operations, and real-time targeting, as well as commercial navigation, environment monitoring, geological exploration, and weather monitoring, toname but a few applications. By solving the real-time image registration problem as well as the navigational/stability update problem, SPREE will provide an ability to automatically and accurately track location in a surrounding environment, independentof the particular environment features, is of great importance to government and commercial enterprises alike. SPREE can provide the ability to navigate locally in GPS