C3I and Electronic Warfare Defence Research Summer Vacation Scholarships

Here are the C3I and Electronic Warfare projects for Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) Scholarships. DSTO is offering 68 university students $4,050 tax-free each for a 12-week research project in the Summer Vacation Scholarship Program. Applications can be made online and close 19 July 2009, with the projects running from late November 2009 to mid February 2010 accross Australia.

The Projects

C3ID 01 Defence Supply Chain Modelling and Analysis

Programming supply chain modelling and analysis algorithms in Java. The modelling examines a network of nodes with probabilistic variables of demand, time between demands, and lead times. The analysis determines the probability of meeting the demand from inventory for each node

Under supervision the student is to conduct research in modelling and analysis of supply chain networks. The student is to contribute to the development of new algorithms in Java language as well as to modify the existing algorithms and GUIs associated with existing supply chain software prototypes

Java programming - essential; Mathematics (particularly Probability) Interest in solving complex and challenging problems. Understanding mathematical operations with probability distributions (e.g. Convolutions, Joint Distributions, Integrations, etc)

Experience in a number of Java programming projects is desirable

Command, Control, Communication & Intelligence Division DSTO Edinburgh SA

EWRD 01 Pulsed Fibre Lasers for Directed Infrared Countermeasures

Directed Infrared Countermeasures involves using a laser operating in the 2-5um band to jam incoming heat seeking missiles. The most challenging component of such a system is developing a suitable laser source. Fibre Lasers are an especially promising technology. Ideally they are all fibre and thus insensitive to harsh vibrational environments, they have a very large surface area and are thus capable of high average power operation and most importantly they have exceptionally high efficiency in the 2um region.

Our generation II DIRCM lasers consist of a Tm fibre laser pumping a Q switched Ho:YAG rod laser which is frequency converted in a ZGP OPO. This project aims to replace the fibre laser pumped Ho:YAG laser with a simpler pulsed fibre laser capable of higher average power operation and with better efficiency.

Under limited supervision construct a high power pulsed fibre laser suitable for frequency conversion to the mid-IR 3-5um region. If time allows this should be frequency converted.

Weekly progress presentations to the group will be expected and a detailed report/journal paper should be produced at the completion of the project

Lasers/Optics/Experimental Physics Experience working with optics, high power lasers and fibre optics such as splicing and cleaving optical fibres

Completion of 3rd year optics at an Australian physics department, although consideration will be given to other students who have displayed outstanding performance

Electronic Warfare & Radar Division DSTO Edinburgh SA

EWRD 02 Development of an automated fibre component fabrication system

Building high power fibre lasers requires fabricating specialty components such as splitters, tapers, mode couplers, combiners and gratings in custom fibres with outstanding optical performance capable of meeting the required tight specifications and able to withstand the extreme power densities involved.

Fabricating complex components with high reliability and yield requires the development of an automated system for translating a beam across an optical fibre while maintaining micron level positioning tolerance relative to the fibre and simultaneously writing a complex optical modulation pattern.

This will require tracking the incoming optical beam and maintaining a lock focusing on the optical fibre. It will require controlling the strain on the optical fibre and will require developing a computer control system and user interface for applying the user defined modulation pattern.

Under limited supervision using high performance motorized stages and lasers construct a system capable of translating a high power optical beam across an optical fibre to write a complex computer controlled modulation pattern.

It is expected that weekly progress presentations will be given and a detailed report describing the system and software produced.

There is also potential for publishing the results of a system able to produce high quality long period gratings. Production of short period gratings using a CO2 laser by this technique would be a world first and finally there is the potential for involvement in laser development utilizing components produced.

Robotics, Engineering, Optics/Experimental Physics Experience with Labview, Matlab and other lab automation software, working with optics and optical fibre component fabrication systems

Completion of 3rd year Science or engineering, although consideration will be given to other students who have displayed outstanding performance

Electronic Warfare & Radar Division DSTO Edinburgh SA

EWRD 03 Tunable Pulsed Fibre Lasers

Defence has a requirement for a tunable, polarized pulsed fibre laser in the 1.03 to 1.2um region of the spectrum suitable for further frequency conversion. Fibre Lasers are an especially promising technology because of their wide tuning range and excellent efficiency. This project aims to demonstrate a polarized, pulsed fibre laser tunable across the required 1um band

Under limited supervision construct a pulsed fibre laser suitable for further frequency conversion which is tunable across the 1um region. Weekly progress presentations to the group will be expected and a detailed report/journal paper should be produced at the completion of the project

Lasers/Optics/Experimental Physics Experience working with optics, high power lasers and fibre optics such as splicing and cleaving optical fibres

Completion of 3rd year optics at an Australian Physics Department, although consideration will be given to other students who have displayed outstanding performance.

Electronic Warfare & Radar Division DSTO Edinburgh SA

EWRD 04 Visual Tracking With MATLAB

Implement and evaluate visual (video) tracking algorithms. How can you automatically detect and track a missile approaching your aircraft with an infrared camera?

How can you tell the difference between a bushfire and reflections from the sun? Can algorithms developed to detect and track people be adapted for airborne vision sensors?

This project will explore the performance of visual tracking algorithms against a range of video data sets. Using a graphical toolbox for MATLAB you will build and explore various visual tracking algorithms. You will write scripts to automate the evaluation of these algorithms against a variety of synthetic and real video sequences. You will record and report on your experimental results.

Each student will be given a separate algorithm(s) to code and test and a joint report of the comparative evaluation will be written.

Research into Computer Vision Algorithms (reading technical papers).

Software Development in MATLAB. Computer Science, Electronic/Computer/Mechatronic Engineering.

Ability to program, to write, to work independently and within a team.

Skills in Mathematics, Computer Vision or Image Processing desirable. Prior experience in MATLAB helpful. An interest in Computer Vision, Signal Processing, Optics, Robotics, or AI, and a motivation to learn more about these topics

Electronic Warfare & Radar Division DSTO Edinburgh SA

EWRD 05 Modelling of radar backscatter from a helicopter rotor

Radar returns from rotating helicopter rotor blades and rotor hubs can be quite complex electromagnetic scattering phenomena, which can be used for automatic target identification of helicopter targets. As a first approximation, a rotor blade may be modeled as a rectangular plate, or a cylinder, or a wedge, while the rotor hub may be modeled as a collection of simple rotating objects such as circular disks, rods, and perhaps corner reflectors. The aim of this project is to produce a theoretical model for the radar backscatter from each of these simple objects and combine their signals to model a composite return.

- Applying electromagnetic field theory to solve relatively simple scattering problems - Implement the models in Matlab

Applied mathematics, physics Matlab programming This project is appropriate for students with a background in applied mathematics and keen interest in the applications of electromagnetic field theory.

Electronic Warfare & Radar Division DSTO Edinburgh SA

EWRD 06 Radio frequency propagation of short range

Establishment of radio frequency communication link and transmission over the various types of terrain. Study of the short range radio frequency propagation and its modelling.

Design of radio frequency propagation experiment, calibration of antennas, set-up of this experiment, measurement, data collection, development of Matlab model, writing report Radio frequency communication, antenna measurements, Signals and Systems Theory, Matlab modelling Matlab

At least third year university student with experimental experience.

Electronic Warfare & Radar Division DSTO Edinburgh SA

EWRD 07 Random variable approximations of bit error rates in communications

Bit error rate approximations are an interesting area where ones knowledge of communications and probability theory can be utilised.

The project wil investigate applying negative binomial and Poisson distributions to approximating these error rates. It involves a lot of analysis of the famous Marcum Q-Function, which is an important function in communications and radar.

Mathematical competence, knowledge of statistics and probability, basic signal processing, Matlab

Electronic Warfare & Radar Division DSTO Edinburgh SA