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Somebody ring up Bad Cat Robot!

By The Armorer on July 6, 2007 | | Comments (10)

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'Bout time they moved on this topic. I've been involved in the evaluation of some of this new gear we're developing for the troops - and just loading these guys with current-tech batteries isn't doing the job.

DoD Announces "Wearable Power" Prize Competition

The Director, Defense Research and Engineering, John Young today announced a public prize competition to develop a wearable electric power system for war fighters.The competition will take place in the fall of 2008 and the prizes are $1 million for first place, $500,000 for second place and $250,000 for third place.

The essential electronic equipment that dismounted warfighters carries today - radios, night vision devices, global positioning system - runs on batteries.This competition will gather and test the good ideas for reducing the weight of the batteries that service members carry.The prize objective is a wearable, prototype system that can power a standard warfighter's equipment for 96 hours but weighs less than half that of the current batteries carried.All components, including the power generator, electrical storage, control electronics, connectors and fuel must weigh four kilograms or less, including any attachments.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams in a final competitive demonstration planned for the fall of 2008.At this "wear-off," individuals or teams will demonstrate their prototype systems under realistic conditions.The top three competitors that demonstrate a complete, wearable system that produces 20 watts average power for 96 hours but weighs less than 4 kilograms (~8.8 lbs) will win the prizes.

A public information forum will be held in September in the Washington, D.C. area to brief potential competitors on the technical details, the competition rules, and qualification requirements. Competitors must register to participate in the prize program by Nov. 30, 2007.The competition is open for international participation; however the individual or team leader must provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Details on the forum, as well as contest registration and rules are posted on the Defense Research and Engineering Prize Web site http://www.dod.mil/ddre/prize .

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10 Comments

By J.M. Heinrichs on July 6, 2007 1:29 PM
They should offer a separate award: $5MIL for the qualifying systems under 2Kg. I would guess that the 96hr/4Kg standard represents an assessment of current capabilities, and thus not much pressure on technological capabilities. Cheers
 
By kat-missouri on July 6, 2007 1:43 PM
I suggested it at the milblogs and I am suggesting it here. Doesn't it seem like there should be a kinetic energy charger? I mean, like those watches and flashlights and other simple machines that take the movement of the wearer or user and translates it into power that is stored in some very small batteries. It seems that a soldier would create enough energy on a regular patrol to recharge the battery/batteries. My thoughts are that they carry a lot of gear that is already strapped to parts of the body. We should be able to integrate or through simple velcro attachments to each limb to enhance and collect the amount of kinetic energy available. Develop a small, portable, flexible solar panel that could be used to collect solar energy during static or downtimes. This should be quickly collapsible (like those nifty freesbies or dog dishes you can collapse with one hand and stick in your pocket). The battery, of course, is the real issue here. One that is light and stores energy for at least 24 hours, assuming that there will be constant movement or other times to charge the battery through these two systems over a longer period. This flat battery should be thin or thinner than the back up battery sources used for a laptop. Another good example would be one of those little battery packs for your cell phone that give you an extra boost of power over a short period of time. Something like that as an emergency back up for some of the gear might be useful. I understand the major issue here is the actual equipment takes a huge amount of energy to operate. Like the radio for instance. The battery must not only be light, collect and store energy, but must put out enough power to actually support the equipment. I am looking forward to seeing what they create. I really think someone should be looking strongly at kinetic energy. That, besides solar power, is the most available resource on a battle field.
 
By kat-missouri on July 6, 2007 1:50 PM
PS...obviously, if you develop a kinetic energy with solar back up model, the battery might not need to be so gigantic. maybe it could even store energy for a short period of time in order to reduce the load since it is probably that a soldier or other energy source would be charging this battery continually through kinetics or solar.
 
By HomefrontSix on July 6, 2007 2:46 PM
Shoot - that first picture looks like my office. AND my kitchen (we plug the cell phones and PDAs and iPods in down there). I'll hafta see if MacGyver wants to join in this competition. I like the kinetic energy system idea. Makes sense.
 
By bad cat robot on July 6, 2007 3:07 PM
*purrrrrrrr* If I could just figure out how to harness the energy in things grunts have a semi-infinite supply of, this would be easy. (That is, cursing, griping, paperwork, and delays.) They didn't like my pocket reactor idea either. Picky.
 
By ry on July 6, 2007 3:10 PM
I dinna t'ink we wants a perpetually powered BCR. Look what she did the JTG.
 
By kat-missouri on July 6, 2007 5:30 PM
You know, BCR, I was going to write something funny about you and a pocket reactor earlier before I went serious about the whole "kinetic energy" thingy. that is just too funny
 
By Justthisguy on July 7, 2007 10:48 PM
I am perfect, this I know. Bad Cat Robot told me so.
 
By AMC on July 9, 2007 3:17 AM
How about a battery generator that attaches to the muzzle like a fire through rifle grenade and then use blanks or live rounds? Not completely practical on a quiet patrol but everything will be powered up when the shooting starts.
 
By David A. Edwards on July 9, 2007 12:15 PM
I would appreciate some detailed information on the two accompanying photos. They are virtually perfect examples of why DDR&E offered this prize. Photos of battery charging, exchange, disposal, shipping in any active theatre would also be welcome.
 
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