Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Code 210000D, 1 Administration Circle, China Lake, CA 93555-6100

A -- TEMPLATE/PATTERN/IMAGE MATCHING TECHNOLOGY SOL N68936-96-R-0330 POC Richard Reyes, Contract Specialist, 619-939-2230 or Anita Dale, Contracting Officer, (619) 939-9665. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWPNS) China Lake, CA is seeking information on advanced technologies in template/ pattern/ image matching as it applies to the Direct Attack Munition Affordable Seeker (DAMASK) project. The DAMASK project is an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) project scheduled to start in fiscal year 1998 and end in fiscal year 2000. The goal of DAMASK is to demonstrate an accuracy upgrade kit for GPS/ INS guided weapons. Current GPS/ INS guided weapons have accuracies in the 10 to 30 meter Circular Error Probable (CEP) range. DAMASK will demonstrate the ability to provide 3 meter CEP precision. The DAMASK concept is to add to the front of a GPS/ INS guided weapon a very low cost fully strap down imaging seeker. The seeker will provide error signals to the existing Control System by comparing the imagery produced by the seeker with a template. The template is generated during mission planning by an operator looking at an image of the target area, or aboard the aircraft when the aircraft's own FLIR or RADAR is used to image the target area. In both cases, the only operator interaction with the template generation system is to momentarily place a cursor above the point in the image where the weapon is to hit. Once the weapon has been launched, weapon position/orientation errors can be computed by comparing where the weapon is looking with the aimpoint selected on the template. These position/orientation errors are then fed back to the control system. The template generation system is considered part of the overall template/pattern/image matching problem as various concepts require different forms of templates. Low cost is a primary driver in the DAMASK concept. Potential cost reductions could result from making the seeker a fully strap down seeker. A strap down seeker has a sensor that is rigidly attached to the bomb body. The sensor does not move as in a conventional seeker concept. Further cost reduction could result from the use of the Uncooled Imaging Infrared Focal Plane Array (UIIRFPA) which is currently commercial-off-the-shelf for different applications. Additional cost reduction is expected from using a concurrently engineered design methodology and advanced manufacturing concepts like injection molded composite components glued together to fit tolerances. For a preplanned mission, the concept of operation is as follows: (a) An operator would fly to a predetermined release basket, release the DAMASK-equipped, GPS/ INS guided weapon and head for home. (b) The weapon, using GPS/ INS only for the majority of the flight, glides towards the target. (c) At a predetermined point, the imager begins to produce imagery that is compared with the template and updates are generated for the control system. (d) Those updates are used by the INS system to improve the weapon accuracy to 3 meters. For a self-designation mission, the concept of operation is identical, except that the aircraft will fly to a point where the target can be imaged by on-board sensors. The target is selected by moving a cursor over the target within the image. Once the target is selected, the operator releases the DAMASK-equipped GPS/ INS guided weapon and heads for home. DAMASK is planning to use a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) equipped MK 84 or BLU 109 bomb as a demonstration platform. Information on approaches to solving the template/pattern/image matching portion of the DAMASK concept are sought. Information of interest includes the following: a) Contact b) Company c) Brief technical description of the approach d) Brief description of how the approach fits into the DAMASK concept e) Brief description of how the approach has been applied to other applications f) Brief description of how the approach has been tested g) Brief description of the approach performance. The above information will be used to assess the following: a) Applicability to DAMASK b) Maturity of the approach c) External information required for the algorithm and format d) Amount of required user interaction, if any e) Approach performance assessment. The information collected will be used to support the planning process for identifying template/pattern/image matching technologies that meet the near term requirements for the DAMASK ATD. Interested parties shall provide their information to Commander (Code 471130D), NAWCWPNS (Attn.: Valerie Rogers), 1 Administration Circle, China Lake, CA 93555-6100 no later than COB 15 September 1996. Contractors should appropriately mark any data that are proprietary or that has (have) restricted data rights. Additional information may be obtained through the point of contact at NAWCWPNS, Valerie Rogers, (619) 939-3515/0308. This announcement is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). (0243)

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