Focused Enhanced Acoustic-Driver Technologies (FEAT) for Long Range Non-Lethal Hail and Warn Capabilities

Commercial off-the-shelf acoustic hailing devices use high sensitivity horn and driver combinations that are capable of producing sound in the range of 109 dB in an anechoic environment.Ā These devices are not as loud as desired, and are significantly heavier (>350 lbs.), and more expensive (>$100k) than the proposed solution.Ā An array of 8 custom driver and horn pairs is proposed to be integrated into an acoustic array which will incorporate adaptive beamforming and atmospheric compensation.Ā The phase II effort is outlined to move through driver and horn design and prototype phases to full rate production. The first yearÆs objective is to develop prototype units and put them through extensive testing to verify they meet the topic requirements as well as anticipated environmental requirements. Year two efforts will be focused on developing the manufacturability of the design and maturing the manufacturing process to be able to produce the desired quantities. The phase II technical effort includes detailed design of the hardware, characterization testing, durability testing and manufacturing process development. ĀThe main design tasks will be to develop the beamforming and amplifier electronic subsystem and a technical data package which describes the hardware in detail. Developmental efforts will also include updates to the design per the results of characterization, durability and environmental testing. Manufacturing process development will include the design and fabrication of tooling and fixtures to support production of the final design. Market surveys will be performed to gain an understanding of the customer base and guide the production quantity and cost targets. The ramp up to production will include the development of the supply chain, manufacturing bill of materials and work instructions for fabrication and assembly of production units. The option period will be used for development of additional variants of the production unit based on the results of the market survey conducted in year two. Potential tasks for the option would be to reduce the overall size of the unit at the expense of frequency range and/or sound level performance or to deliver a more robust unit at the expense of material selection and weight.