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 proven feasible in Phase I. The rapid registration process transforms the image-processing problem into a signal-processing domain, where real-time image registration techniques perform navigational corrections and stabilization. Theoptical flow algorithms optimize the correction accuracy and stabilization effectiveness. The Phase II Objectives are (1) Process Refinement - define requirements to utilize or modify the Phase I processes, to accomplish the navigational correction andstabilization calculations, (2) POP Design Revision -design the SPREE system to perform these corrections and stabilization, (3) POP Prototype System Development, Testing and Demonstration -develop the SPREE system, test it, and demonstrate itscapabilities, (4) Performance Assessment -quantitatively assess SPREE performance, and (5) Commercialization - execute a commercialization strategy to develop a SPREE product, ready for commercial release. The Phase II results will be: (1) a delivered,tested, and demonstrated SPREE prototype, (2) interim demonstrations of initial and final POP prototype versions of SPREE, and (3) project documentation, to include a final technical report and a SPREE user's guide.