Waterjet Vision System

OUSD (R&E) CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Advanced Computing and Software The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE: This project will focus on the development of a system to produce AI generated one-off robotic programming. The programming should use visual data collected and assessed in an autonomous manner. An optimized physical system should be delivered and integrated into the Depot environment. DESCRIPTION: Water Jet is one of the optimal choices for coating removal due to its low stock loss on parent material. Ageing weapon systems have lead to each repair becomes its own snowflake (one of a kind) item, thus small spots of the coatings are often not removed and require sections of the program to be reran. Vision systems are being developed for several different types of technology for determining areas that need to be processed. the system develops the path planning to successfully process the part. Building on vision system technology, this project would make recommendations to complete the coating removal and speed up the unique rework loop. PHASE I: As this is a Direct-to-Phase-II (D2P2) topic, no Phase I awards will be made as a result of this topic. To qualify for this D2P2 topic, the Government expects the applicant(s) to demonstrate feasibility by means of a prior Phase I-type effort that does not constitute work undertaken as part of a prior or ongoing SBIR/STTR funding agreement. The applicant should be able to prove a firm understanding and ability to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirements of the project. Specifically, they should have some working relationship with vision systems and/or water jet stripping technology. The vendor must be able to provide sufficient data for the government to determine feasibility. PHASE II: This will be a SBIR D2P2 with a 24 month Period of performance. This project will be the application and development of a machine vision system for Depot level waterjet cleaning and material removal. The applicant should advance the previous AFRL MANTECH associated work using similar technologies for sanding processes. The scope of the project will evaluate through an applicant developed system that will be integrated with existing an existing Depot waterjet. The system will be optimized for propulsion parts to include the scale of size and geometric complexity. An optimized demonstration of the physical system is expected as part of the deliverable. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Following successful SIBR prototyping, the ALC will dedicate CIP funds to upgrade all 11 of the water jet stripping systems to have this vision system. REFERENCES: https://www.fanucamerica.com/products/robots/vision-products; https://www.progressivesurface.com/waterjetcleaning.htm; KEYWORDS: Waterjet; Vision; AI; Artificial Intelligence; Cleaning; Depot; Machine Vision