Multi domain, Optical, Non uniform Adaptive Imaging Technology Oriented Research (MONITOR) | Apply Online

FAQs: ONR MONITOR (Multi domain, Optical, Non uniform Adaptive Imaging Technology Oriented Research)

1) What is the MONITOR funding opportunity?

MONITOR is an Office of Naval Research (ONR) funding opportunity focused on research and development for adaptive imaging systems that reduce overwhelming imaging data volumes by collecting the most detailed measurements only where they are needed.

2) What problem is ONR trying to solve with MONITOR?

Modern visible, infrared, hyperspectral, and polarization-sensitive imaging sensors can generate extremely large amounts of data (potentially multiple terabytes per mission). This strains onboard computing, downlink bandwidth, storage, and analyst workloads. MONITOR targets the mismatch between sensor capability and practical limits on data handling and exploitation.

3) Why does imaging data volume become so large in these systems?

Data volume increases because systems are collecting information across multiple domains at once: spatial detail (pixels), temporal sampling (frame rate), spectral sampling (many wavelength bands), and polarization sampling (different polarization states). As each domain becomes richer, the combined dataset grows rapidly in both size and complexity.

4) What kinds of imaging sensors and trends are motivating this program?

ONR describes rapid growth from consumer cameras with tens of megapixels to defense-scale demonstrations collecting imagery on the order of a billion pixels (examples cited include DARPA programs such as ARGUS-IS and AWARE). Infrared sensors are also moving toward very large detector formats, supported by efforts like the tri-service VISTA program, with attempts like ARGUS-IR aiming at several hundred megapixels. At the same time, hyperspectral sensors are shrinking enough to be considered for tactical deployment on small and medium unmanned aerial vehicles, and polarization-sensitive imaging is increasingly valued for distinguishing man-made objects from natural backgrounds.

5) What is meant by "multi-domain" in MONITOR?

In this context, "multi-domain" refers to sensing and measurement across spatial, temporal, spectral, and polarization domains. Instead of capturing only a standard image (space) at a given frame rate (time), multi-domain approaches may also capture many spectral bands (spectrum) and multiple polarization states (polarization).

6) What is the key observation about wide-area sensing that MONITOR relies on?

ONR highlights that, in wide-area sensing, most pixels are usually uninteresting most of the time. Large regions such as open sky, ocean, or uniform terrain often contain no targets or actionable activity, yet they may still be recorded at the same resolution and frame rate as more relevant regions.

7) What is "selective" or "adaptive" sampling in this program?

Selective/adaptive sampling means the system does not measure everything everywhere at the highest fidelity all the time. Instead, it monitors broadly at a coarser level and then increases sampling only in regions of interest. Historically this idea has been applied mainly to spatial detail and/or frame rate; MONITOR seeks to extend it into spectrum and polarization as well.

8) How does MONITOR extend prior variable-resolution or space-variant imaging work?

Prior approaches reduced data by varying spatial resolution and/or temporal sampling (frame rate), using coarse coverage for the full scene and richer measurement for selected regions. MONITOR aims to expand that concept to include non-uniform, adaptive selection of spectral bands and polarization states, not just pixels and frames.

9) What is the main research goal of MONITOR?

The main goal is to develop adaptive, non-uniform measurement architectures that intelligently decide where and when to collect finer-grained information across multiple domains, especially spectrum and polarization, while keeping background coverage lighter to manage total data volume.

10) What does ONR mean by "non-uniform measurement architectures"?

It refers to sensing approaches that allocate measurement effort unevenly across the field of view and across measurement types. Instead of exhaustively collecting dense spectral and full polarization data everywhere, the system concentrates its best (most informative, highest-fidelity) measurements on likely targets or regions of interest.

11) Why are spectrum and polarization specifically emphasized?

ONR emphasizes them because they can add strong discrimination power for detection and identification, but collecting dense hyperspectral data or full polarization information across an entire wide-area scene can be costly in data and resources. The program focus is on selectively using these richer measurements only where they provide real value.

12) What is the intended practical outcome of MONITOR research?

Based on the synopsis, the intended outcome is sensing systems that can reduce storage, processing, and transmission burdens by using onboard decision-making and dynamic sensor control to collect high-detail, high-value measurements on targets and lower-detail measurements on background areas.

13) Does MONITOR relate to onboard processing and dynamic sensor control?

Yes. The program description points to systems that may combine onboard processing, early detection/classification, and dynamic sensor control so that sensing resources are focused on likely targets rather than uniformly applied to the entire scene.

14) What is the solicitation identifier for this opportunity?

The opportunity was released as ONRBAA13-015.

15) What CFDA program is associated with this opportunity?

The synopsis lists CFDA 12.300, Basic and Applied Scientific Research.

16) What funding instrument types are mentioned?

The listed instrument types include a grant and a procurement contract.

17) What is the estimated total funding amount and number of expected awards?

The estimated total funding amount is $3,000,000, and ONR expected to make three awards.

18) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The synopsis states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.

19) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any entity type), subject to any additional clarifications in the full announcement.

20) When was the opportunity posted and what were the closing dates?

The posting date was May 13, 2013. The original and current closing date was September 12, 2013. The archive date was October 12, 2013.

21) Where were applicants instructed to obtain the full announcement?

Applicants were directed to retrieve the full announcement through Grants.gov using the "FULL ANNOUNCEMENT" link on the synopsis page.

22) Who should be contacted for technical questions?

Technical questions were directed to the Program Officer, Ravindra Athale.

23) Who should be contacted for business questions?

Business questions were directed to the Contract Specialist, Rebecca Foster.

24) What is the basic strategy MONITOR promotes for handling wide-area imagery?

The strategy is to monitor broadly with lighter sampling and selectively increase measurement density (spatial, temporal, spectral, and polarization) only where the scene indicates likely targets or actionable activity, thereby reducing unnecessary data collection over uninformative regions.

25) Why does ONR mention open sky, ocean, and uniform terrain?

These are examples of scene regions that are often uninteresting in wide-area sensing. They illustrate why collecting full-resolution, full-rate, multi-band, and full-polarization data everywhere can be inefficient, and why adaptive measurement can reduce data volume without losing operationally relevant information.