A SBIR Phase I contract was awarded to OFF-WORLD, INC. in March, 2020 for $46,811.0 USD from the U.S. Department of Defense and United States Air Force.
Timely identification and removal of Foreign Object Debris (FOD) is essential for efficient and safe USAF airfield operations. OffWorld’s Runway Sweeping Bots have the ability to autonomously identify and remove runway and other airfield FOD. In addition, our solution also directly enhances current and future USAF Rapid Airfield Damage Repair (RADR) programs. A variation of our solution is currently being commercially used in the mining industry. Our solution is composed of a central hardware platform and several modular components, allowing it to be highly customizable to specific requirements of individual USAF airfields. Our machine learning and AI architectures drive total system autonomy, freeing up valuable airmen time. Our solution is directly related to the top 2 DOD Technology Focus Areas of 1) AI and 2) Autonomy.