Passive-Active Combo System for Unmanned Characterization of Littoral Environments - SBIR Topic DON26BZ01-NV026

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This topic was temporarily posted by the Department of War SBIR Program on March 2nd 2026 and removed the following day.
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Funding Amount:

Est. $240,000

Deadline to Apply:

Est. April 29th, 2026.

Objective:

Develop a lightweight, integrated passive imaging and LiDAR system, deployable on an unmanned aerial platform for target detection, feature characterization, and bathymetry retrieval in littoral environments. The system should be light enough for deployment from a Group 2 (max. gross takeoff weight: 21 – 55 lbs.) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Description:

Achieving and maintaining maritime dominance in the coastal battlespace requires the Navy and Marine Corps to have superior situational awareness. A key component of this dominance is the ability to rapidly characterize shallow, nearshore environments [Ref 1] in real-time using agile, unmanned aerial platforms. To this end, a system is needed that provides (1) bathymetry retrieval; (2) detection and discrimination of underwater targets; and (3) characterization of the land-ocean interface (i.e., surface type, topography, and shallow-water bathymetry).

Current UAV-based shallow water and littoral zone characterization relies on either (1) passive imagers alone or (2) bathymetric LiDAR systems deployed on larger airborne platforms or in separate missions. While passive imagers effectively characterize surface features, bathymetric LiDAR is necessary for bathymetry retrieval and underwater target detection. Simultaneous deployment of both a high-performance passive imager and a bathymetric LiDAR on a Group 2 UAV is challenging due to payload weight limitations. Systems that attempt this combination often compromise sensor performance or utilize topographic LiDAR [Ref 2], which uses near-infrared wavelengths unsuitable for bathymetry retrieval.

One potential solution is a system that can accommodate a passive imager and a dual-wavelength LiDAR that operates at two wavelengths – one where light penetrates deep into the water column and another with very little to no penetration into the water column – which can be used to effectively discriminate between LiDAR returns from the water surface and the substrate. The heaviest part of a topo-bathy LiDAR is the scanning component. A non-scanning, nadir-viewing LiDAR system would be light enough for simultaneous deployment on a Group 2 UAV. The passive imager could be hyperspectral or multispectral but should provide sufficient spectral information to spectrally characterize the water column and the land-ocean interface and discriminate underwater objects and features. Single nadir lines of LiDAR returns from adjacent flight lines could be mapped onto corresponding spatially explicit imaging data to build three-dimensional profiles of bathymetry. Coincidental LiDAR and imaging data could also be used to train a regression-based machine learning (ML) model to estimate depths from the imaging data, similar to previous empirical approaches [Ref 3].

The system should provide rapid onboard processing of passive spectral and LiDAR data and real-time downlink of preliminary output to a ground station. The output should include a true-color composite of the target area, a topo-bathy map, a target detection map (showing locations of targets of interest, which could be new objects or objects with known properties pre-programmed into the system), and a terrain characterization map (showing information on the terrain type, concentration of optically significant constituents in the water column, and bottom type). Performers may use simple or sophistical techniques to retrieve information from spectral imaging data, such as simple band-ratio algorithms, spectral inversion based on radiative transfer modeling, spectral derivatives, or ML techniques. The system should provide the above information for coastal waters up to 20 meters depth in moderately turbid waters (diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm, Kd(490) ˜ 2-4 m-1). Note: SBIR funds may be used to purchase a Group 2 UAV to serve as a platform for the imager + LiDAR combo system.

Who will win?

If you can achieve the objective above better than any other company on the market, you have a very high-likelihood of success and should apply.

Who is eligible to apply?

Any company that meets the following criteria:

• For-profit company

• U.S.-owned and controlled.

• 500 or fewer employees (including affiliates)

How Can BW&CO Help?

1) End-to-end support including, strategy, writing of the full proposal, and administrative & compliance support.

2) Proposal strategy and review.

3) Administrative & compliance support.

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