Autonomous Sensor Health Monitoring for Modern Shipboard Control Systems Navy SBIR FY2005.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2005.2 Topic No.: N05-132 Topic Title: Autonomous Sensor Health Monitoring for Modern Shipboard Control Systems Proposal No.: N052-132-0388 Firm: Barron Associates, Inc. 1410 Sachem Place Suite 202 Charlottesville, Virginia 22901-2496 Contact: Jason Burkholder Phone: (434) 973-1215 Web Site: http://www.barron-associates.com Abstract: Next generation U.S. Navy shipboard control systems are being designed to provide much higher levels of machinery automation than their predecessors. The U.S. Navy is investing in these sophisticated systems with expectations of improved system performance and reliability. Moreover, reductions in the number of shipboard personnel required to operate the engineering plant may result in lower total ownership costs for these modern ships. Sensors distributed throughout the ship, numbering in the thousands, provide the required inputs to the automated ship control system. The cost in labor and materials to maintain and calibrate these sensors presents a risk to the anticipated cost savings. Furthermore, untimely sensor failures could cause the crew to lose confidence in the machinery control system. Barron Associates, Inc. (BAI) and its partner, Sperry Marine, a Unit of Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, propose to develop an autonomous sensor health monitoring system that will leverage BAI's proven diagnostic techniques and Sperry's shipboard control system application expertise and development facilities. The development of a comprehensive fault and failure anomaly detection and isolation system will bring together flight-tested algorithms developed by BAI for online, real-time parameter identification and generic algorithms developed by BAI for sensor monitoring in any complex dynamical system. Benefits: Calibration and maintenance for extensive sensor networks is a daunting and, potentially, costly endeavor. The maintenance strategy in such systems is complicated by the need to minimize unnecessary inspections, since this consumes valuable human resources and may require expensive teardown and rebuild procedures. However, unanticipated unavailability of these complex control systems due to a sensor failure can diminish the vessel's warfighting capability. Prognostic systems that can detect and track the progression of a failure precursor, so as to allow maintenance to be scheduled more conveniently, can significantly reduce the operating and ownership costs of such systems and will readily pay for themselves. The need for prognostics capabilities is especially great for the military, since maintenance requirements during military conflict impart a tactical disadvantage. Return