AFRL collaborated with defense innovators through NSIN Challenges to support solutions for quantum-inspired information extraction.

A team from the University of Central Florida (UCF) CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics has won Phase 1 of the NSIN-sponsored Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Quantum-Inspired Efficient Information Extraction for Electro-optic Systems Grand Challenge (AFRL Grand Challenge #1). The challenge includes the potential of a $500,000 contract, awarded in four development phases over the next 9 months, to develop high-resolution space imaging solutions.

The UCF team, led by Professor Stephen Eikenberry, pitched a novel approach of using photonic lanterns to identify space objects beyond the Rayleigh limit as part of the grand challenge.

The UCF team greatly impressed the judging panel.

“We are excited to work with UCF for the next phase of this grand challenge,” said Dr. Sarah Krug, AFRL Sensors Directorate, Laser Radar Optics Research Engineer. “We have confidence in their well-defined solution to our problem, and we look forward to seeing how their photonic lantern technology influences quantum-inspired high-resolution sensing.”

The UCF team is led by CREOL professors of optics and photonics, Stephen Eikenberry and Rodrigo Amezcua-Correa, supported by CREOL Ph.D. candidate and U.S. Space Force Major, Matthew Cooper, and Kerri Donaldson-Hanna, assistant professor of physics and a member of UCF’s Planetary Sciences Group.

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Watch the live pitch event

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About National Security Innovation Network

NSIN is a government program office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OSD(R&E)) that collaborates with major universities and the venture community to develop solutions that drive national security innovation. We operate two portfolios of programs and services: Talent and Venture. Together, these portfolios form a pipeline of activities and solutions that accelerate the pace of defense innovation.