TerraMetrics, Inc., of Littleton, Colo., was awarded a two-year, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory to research and develop a system that will help make helicopter landings safer during zero-visibility conditions in dry, arid regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan. TerraBlocks said its Clear-to-Land (CTL) system uses in-flight stereo cameras to capture terrain features and ground hazards, and produces a computer-generated 3-D terrain model of the physical landing location. The system, according to the company, will provide situational awareness of the landing location when ground hazards and other physical features become engulfed in blinding dust clouds known as a brownout.