Compact Unmanned Aerial System for Marine Species Monitoring

STTR · Phase: BOTH · Topic DON27TZ02-NV006 · Solicitation 27.TZ

A major remaining hurdle with marine species management is to know if, and when, measurable short-term behavioral and/or physiological responses of marine species to sound exposure results in biologically significant or meaningful effects on individuals and/or their populations. Advances in UAS methods and technology present unprecedented opportunities to improve the capacity to collect this robust data with minimal disturbance to marine species. However, while UAS methods have led to significant advances in our understanding of marine species’ behavior, health, and body condition, thus far many obstacles remain including cost, flight duration, size, and image resolution. This STTR topic seeks to develop a compact, inexpensive, and NDAA-compliant UAS and payloads designed to collect high-resolution photogrammetry imagery to improve marine mammal monitoring, health measurements, and behavioral sequencing. In particular, the prototype device should contain the following technical parameters: high resolution flat zoom lens camera integrated with a gimbal system; highly maneuverable and flexible payload system; lightweight batteries less than 100 Watt hours; an accurate Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) altimeter and range finder integrated with the camera and capable of measuring distances up to 50m or more; and a monitor that is operational in direct sunlight and with polarized sunglasses;. It should be designed for flight times as much as or greater than 40 minutes; be compact and portable in both size and weight such that the UAS and case can fit airline luggage restrictions; have the ability to be quickly calibrated, launched, and caught by hand during small boat-based operations and to tolerate temperature range of -20 degrees to +40 degrees Celsius; and have a minimum weather resistant rating of IP45 to allow for operations in wet conditions; be capable of dynamic home point positioning; and produces minimal noise. While there are several existing NDAA-compliant drones available in the marketplace, the desired components and capabilities only exist in piecemeal and further, these UAS are prohibitively expensive for the field. The DON seeks to develop a prototype device to be designed and optimized for marine species monitoring, encompassing all the above technical parameters. Critically, this device must be affordable for the marine research community with the target market price between $10,000 - $15,000.

SBIR/STTR 은 미국 중소기업만 지원할 수 있습니다(Small Business Act 법정 요건). • 계열사를 포함해 상시 종업원 500명 이하 • 미국 시민 또는 영주권자 1인 이상이 50%를 초과해 직접 소유·지배 • 미국 내 사업장을 두고 주로 미국 내에서 사업을 영위할 것 • 수행책임자(PI)의 주된 근무처가 신청 기업일 것 출처: https://www.sbir.gov/faq/eligibility-requirements

Primary country

🇺🇸 United States

Also eligible

None

Foreign companies

No

Local entity

Required

Location condition

미국 내 사업장을 두고 미국 시민·영주권자가 50%를 초과해 소유한 중소기업만 신청할 수 있습니다(법정 요건).

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Official URL

https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/

Application URL

https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/

Last fetched

2026.11.06

Human review

Not reviewed — check the official announcement

First seen

2026.11.06

Data status

Auto-collected, not reviewed

AI enrichment

Needs verification