SBIR-STTR Award

The objective of the Phase I program is a design of a stereoscopic and binaural telepresence system for remote piloting of the FFRRV helicopter. The system must afford the pilot on the ground a sense of "presence" in the cockpit - both visually and aurally - complete enough to permit aggressive and precise maneuvers. LEEP Systems will design a system based on its present technology, having a very wide angle of view for fast and accurate orientation in space as well as high resolution inserts for sharp views of distant features of the terrain. By this means the benefits of high resolution and wide angle can be simultaneously realized by just doubling the video bandwidth and of the electronic hardware, whereas without the inserts, getting vision substantially better than legal blindness requires unavailable components and a one hundred-fold increase in video bandwidth, which is not feasible. Along with AACOM Data Links, major consultants for telemetry equipment, LEEP brings to this task a unique breadth of experience and depth of skill, which is quite adequate to the task, as demonstrated repeatedly by innovations and by directly related products brought successfully to market. The anticipated work load will be readily accommodated.

In order to perform dynamic agility, stability, control, and acoustic research using instrumented, free flight, reduced-scale powered rotorcraft vehicles, it is desirable to develop a telepresence system sophisticated enough to faithfully and transparently reproduce the sensory information perceived from the cockpit, and rugged enough to withstand the rigors of an airborne environment. The objectives of the Phase II effort are to verify the suitability of LEEP's Phase I Dual Resolution Telepresence system design to meet the requirements of the FFRRV unmanned flight project, and to assemble a complete, working and install it into the FFRRV. To accomplish these objectives, LEEP will perform experiments with key system components to verify their ability to perform in the desired manner. Once all critical components have been tested, a prototype will be assembled and installed into the FFRRV and ground control station. As far as it is possible, the system will be modular, and each major component will be as non-specific to the requirements of the FFRRV as possible while still addressing its needs. In this way, other uses in the government and private sector, of which there should be many, will be easily accommodated.