MANTIS: Maritime Navigation Through Image-based Sensing

Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) are becoming increasingly important to US military dominance around the world. However, reliance on GPS is a vulnerability that can be exploited by a determined adversary, even one with limited technical capabilities. While Scientific Systems Company, Inc. (SSCI) has developed optically-aided navigation capabilities in GPS-denied environments over land, GPS-denied navigation over water remains a challenge due to the absence of robust, static visual features in the environment. In this SBIR effort, SSCI proposes the use of innovative vision-aided techniques for over-water navigation through the development of the MANTIS (Maritime Navigation Through Image-based Sensing) system. This effort will focus on visual inertial odometry solutions for navigation using non-stationary features, from ocean whitecaps and clouds, which move according to a parameterized model relative to the world reference frame. Estimating these parameters in addition to the conventional scene geometry and camera motion will allow navigation despite the dearth of static environmental features. Upon completion of the proposed MANTIS SBIR effort (Phase 1 and 2), the system for navigation over water will be integrated in to SSCI’s existing GPS-denied solutions, which will result in a comprehensive solution for Navy UAS missions over land and sea.