Two Maui Ocean Tech Companies Receive Almost $1 Million in CEROS Awards

By Sonia Isotov

The National Defense Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences (CEROS) announced $6.9 million in FY10 funding; two Maui companies will receive almost $1 million.

Based in Wailuku, International Underwater Explorations, LLC received a $348,334 award for a project entitled “LIMDIS Globe (G-SWATII)”.

Pacific Defense Solutions, LLC, based in the Maui Research and Technology Park in Kihei, received an award of $574,437 for a project entitled “Automated Decision Aides for Submarine Situational Awareness Using Periscope Imagery”.

With funding through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), CEROS supports research and technical development projects which will produce measurable results in 6 to 12 months.

CEROS selects projects for funding based on (1) a focus on near-term results; (2) tangible deliverables linked to quantitative metrics; (3) connection to military requirements; and (4) potential for transition to a real military capability.

Since 1993, CEROS has funded 270 projects at a value exceeding $107 million. Hawaii’s Senator Daniel K. Inouye was instrumental in the creation of CEROS and its continued federal funding to give Hawaii’s companies an opportunity to compete in the maritime technology market and provide solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense.

CEROS initiated the 2010 program with an annual Industry Day event in Honolulu, and a publicly advertised solicitation seeking project proposals to address the CEROS Program technical focus areas. These priority focus areas include:

• Shallow Water Surveillance Technologies
• Ocean Environmental Preservation
• New Ocean Platform, Ship, and Ship-building Concepts
• Ocean Measurement Instrumentation and Ocean Engineering Tools
• Unique Properties of the Deep Ocean Environment
• Improvements in Logistics, Operations and Maintenance, and Training

“The projects selected for funding in our 2010 Core Program are an excellent fit for the emerging and future technology needs of the maritime military sector” said Alan Hilton, the CEROS Technical Director. “They cover a broad suite of novel technical innovations ranging from fundamental concept development and validation, to prototype production and field trials of promising new technologies for operational commands.”

In total, fourteen companies will receive over $6.9 million in FY10 funding.

In total, fourteen companies will receive over $6.9 million in FY10 funding. Companies and project titles selected for CEROS awards under the 2010 technology development program are:

• Axis Engineering Technologies, Honolulu, HI, $384,930, “Autonomous Gateway Wave Glider Supporting Acoustic Tracking and Communication for a Portable Underwater Tracking Range”
• CBI Polymers, LLC, Honolulu, HI , $634,989, “Improved Anticorrosion Coatings for Navy Ships and Infrastructure”
• International Underwater Explorations, LLC, Wailuku, HI, $348,334, “LIMDIS Globe (G-SWAT-II)“
• Kuehnle Agrosystems, Inc., Honolulu, HI, $370,991, “Mixotrophic Grown Algae Biomass for Biofuels”
• Lockheed Martin Corporation, Honolulu, HI, $492,000, “Contact Association across Nodes”
• Lockheed Martin Corporation, Honolulu, HI, $691,000, “Advanced System for faster-than-real-time Acoustic Processing”
• Lockheed Martin Corporation, Honolulu, HI, $364,640, “Non-Traditional Sonar System (NTSS)”
• Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc., Waimanalo, HI, $568,300, “Developing an Autonomous Underwater Cable Burial System”
• Ocean Acoustical Services and Instrumentation Systems, Inc., Pearl Harbor, HI, $389,145, “Simultaneously Improving Glider Position Estimates and Ocean State Forecasts”
• Pacific Defense Solutions LLC (PDS), Kihei, HI, $574,437, “Automated Decision Aides for Submarine Situational Awareness Using Periscope Imagery”
• Phoenix International Holdings, Inc., Aiea, HI, $684,044, “3-D Damage Assessment Tool”
• Referentia Systems, Inc., Honolulu, HI, $488,167, “Dynamic Virtual Secure Enclave Manager (DVSEM)”
• Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Honolulu, HI, $392,950, “A New Impulsive Sound Source for Off-board Measurements of Reverberation”
• Spectrum Photonics, Inc., Honolulu, HI, $576,032, “Compact Trace Chemical Detector for Underwater Explosive Ordnance (EOD) Detection”

“These fourteen projects are just a few of the many excellent technical proposals received and evaluated by CEROS this year,” said Hilton. “The number of selections possible was limited only by the amount of available funds, and it is my hope that CEROS will be able to support more of the excellent project ideas from Hawaii’s high technology community through future program opportunities.”