SBIR-STTR Award

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes a new, low-cost approach to 3D millimeter wave image sensors enabling non-destructive evaluation in construction, as well as other fields such as robotics, security, and quality control. Millimeter wave imaging uses human-safe, radio frequency signals to make high resolution images of objects that cannot be seen with conventional optical sensors. Because of their long wavelength, millimeter waves pass through many materials that are opaque to visible light, including common construction materials such as drywall, brick, tile, cement, and wood. For example, in the construction market, dramatic cost savings and faster, safer, and more accurate construction work could be achieved using millimeter wave imaging for structural evaluation as well as observing hidden utilities such as wiring and plumbing that should be avoided while drilling, and detecting hazards such as water leaks behind wall surfaces. This project will also provide entrepreneurial opportunity to a new generation of scholars/innovators as the technology matures toward commercial practice.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to advance the state of the art in millimeter wave imaging and enable low-cost, standalone 3D millimeter wave imagers. Prior work in a laboratory environment has demonstrated the promise of millimeter wave imaging for applications such as structural analysis in construction, however commercialization requires an image sensor that is fast, portable, low power, and low cost. This project will enable low cost hardware/software platforms for millimeter wave imaging using commercial chipsets with novel general purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU)-accelerated image reconstruction algorithms.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to advance a system for millimeter wave (mmWave) imaging and associated data analytics. This system has potential applications such as pharmaceutical manufacturing inspection of items on an individual pill level. The technology could audit the number or type of pills inside a bottle, pouch, or blister pack; bottles inside a case; and it could look for damage, such as a broken vial or bottle. The improved resolution coupled with the proposed data analytics software will provide accurate metrics about an item that does not require costly human labor. In other fields, such as robotics and automation, mmWave sensors enable imaging in inclement weather and smoky environments, where optical sensors fail. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to (1) develop a 3D mmWave imaging system with improved imaging resolution and (2) develop image processing software that can automatically extract image data and rapidly evaluate metrics. This project will focus on development of 60+ GHz 3D imaging solutions and analytics to retrieve important metrics from those images. By increasing the frequency of operation to 60+ GHz, mmWave image resolution can be improved to 3 – 5 mm voxel size. Additionally, while mmWave images can be produced in near-real-time, these images must still be analyzed by a human. The analytics software to be developed in Phase II will automatically extract key metrics about the scene specific to each industry use case. This project will advance the state of the art in mmWave imaging by developing a low-cost, modular, high-resolution mmWave imaging system that is coupled with automated analytics, enabling a low-cost automated auditing function with broad industry applicability. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.