Archive | November 30, 2010 | Armed with Science

Army’s Greatest Inventions: Electronic Warfare System Provides Greater Protection for U.S. Military

Filed under Education & Culture, Technology by Armed with Science on November 30, 2010 at 4:31 pm {no comments}

Mr. Ramon Llanos and John Masco (left to right) of CERDEC I2WD accept the AGI award during a ceremony, Nov. 29, at the Army Science Conference. (Photo: CERDEC)

The top 10 Army’s Greatest Inventions were announced Nov. 29, in a ceremony during the 2010 Army Science Conference. Candidates were assessed and chosen by Soldiers based on importance and impact. Three of these technologies came from the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics center (CERDEC).

Mr. Ramon Llanos of CERDEC’s Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate (I2WD) joins us to discuss one of these technologies: the Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (CREW) Duke V3. Ramon is the chief of I2WD’s Electronic Warfare Systems Ground Branch. He is responsible for Science and Technology programs involving the development of advanced radio frequency countermeasures for U.S. Army Ground Systems and has been part of CREW since the onset of this type of technology.

The DoD is devoting significant resources such as equipment, personnel, tactics, training and procedures to defeating improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Additionally, the research and development efforts at CERDEC I2WD, in conjunction with Product Manager CREW, have produced the CREW Duke V3 system which is currently the U.S. Army’s most widely fielded CREW system. To date, over 40,000 Duke systems are fielded on Army combat platforms operating outside the wire in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Our job is to make sure we get our service members back from theater alive. CREW systems such as Duke V3 enable spectrum dominance through force protection of vehicle convoys against the radio controlled initiation of roadside bombs. The Duke V3 systems have played a significant role in reducing the insurgents’ employment of radio-controlled IEDs as a weapon of choice. The net result has been a dramatic reduction in deaths and casualties due to Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices (RCIED).

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Sense-through-the-Wall Technology Detects Adversaries, Hidden Compartments

Filed under Physical Sciences, Technology by Armed with Science on November 30, 2010 at 12:55 pm {7 comments}

In preparation for an exercise to “Gain a Foothold,” a Soldier uses one of the ATO technology demonstrators to determine the location of any personnel near the door and adjacent rooms of the target building. (Photo: CERDEC)

Scientists and engineers from across the U.S. Army, academia and industry are presenting their research this week in Orlando, Fla. at the 2010 Army Science Conference. The conference seeks to enable Army and DoD leaders, Congress and the public to understand the scope of the Army’s science and technology efforts to rapidly develop technologies in support of the Army and the Nation.

About the author: Wilbur Chin is an electronics engineer with the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics center (CERDEC). A team lead in CERDEC’s Intelligence & Information Warfare Directorate (I2WD), Wilbur has managed the Suite of STTW Systems Army Technology Objective.

Military operations are becoming increasingly urban centric and our ability to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance on combatants is severely hindered as they retreat indoors. The Army is committed to providing the Soldier with the capability to locate potential hostile targets deep inside urban structures with sense-through-the-wall (STTW) technology.

The Suite of STTW Systems Army Technology Objective, managed by CERDEC I2WD during FY04-FY08, developed a capability for dismounted Soldiers to detect and locate personnel who are hidden behind various types of walls, doors and other obstructions. The successful demonstration of STTW technology has resulted in its transition to a Program of Record.

CERDEC I2WD is providing support to the Program of Record as well as continuing its research of detecting personnel, concealed weapons and explosives and other devices of interest in complex and urban terrain through partnerships with the Army Research Lab and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

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Detecting Compartment Syndrome with Infrared Imaging

Filed under Life Sciences, Technology by Armed with Science on November 30, 2010 at 10:17 am {no comments}

Dean Kissinger is a Penn State electrical engineering graduate and Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate Lead for the MedicIR project. (Photo: CERDEC)

Scientists and engineers from across the U.S. Army, academia and industry are presenting their research this week in Orlando, Fla. at the 2010 Army Science Conference. The conference seeks to enable Army and Department of Defense leaders, Congress and the public to understand the scope of the Army’s science and technology efforts to rapidly develop technologies in support of the Army and the Nation.

About the author: Dean Kissinger is a Project Engineer for the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics center (CERDEC).

It is day two at the Army Science Conference, and most of the morning sessions are focused on medical science and technology. The topics range from treating PTSD to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. And while we’re primarily known for our work with Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) technologies, the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communication-electronics center also researches and develops technologies to support the physical wellbeing of tomorrow’s Soldier.

In 2008, the CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) began collaborative work with the medical community on a system to help detect Compartment Syndrome (CS). The MEDical Imaging Camera – InfraRed (MEDIC-IR) effort uses calibrated Long Wave Infrared imagery, which can timely diagnose CS for action; delayed treatment of CS can be problematic.

Combat casualty management is especially concerned with transport of the injured Soldiers from the combat theater. The precise time interval from the onset of tissue ischemia in CS to the development of nerve and muscle necrosis is unknown but may occur as quickly as three hours from time of injury. In comparison, flight time from medical evacuation facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan to Germany is on the order of six to eight hours, with no opportunity for treatment en route. Diagnosis is especially difficult in patients with multiple trauma or altered mental status, including combat personnel sustaining close proximity exposure to improvised explosive device blast waves.

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Enhanced Performance Round Brings More Capability to U.S. Soldiers

Filed under Physical Sciences, Videos by Armed with Science on November 29, 2010 at 1:47 pm {no comments}

By Lt. Col. Jeffrey Woods, Product Manager for Small-Caliber Ammunition in the Office of the Project Manager Maneuver Ammunition Systems, Program Executive Office for Ammunition, at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. He holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Texas and a M.S. in operations research from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Earlier this summer, the Army began shipping a new 5.56mm cartridge to warfighters in Afghanistan called the M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round. And, as Soldiers normally do when any new product comes their way, the M855A1 has become a hot topic during their ritual debates on guns and ammo.

The new round replaces the current M855 5.56mm cartridge that has been used by U.S. troops since the early 1980s.

The M855A1 is tailored for use in the M-4 weapon system but also improves the performance of the M-16 and M-249 families of weapons. The M855A1 has shown improved hard-target capability, more dependable, consistent performance at all distances, improved accuracy, reduced muzzle flash and a higher velocity.

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Tracking Surgical Equipment Using Bar Codes

Filed under Technology by Armed with Science on November 24, 2010 at 12:24 pm {2 comments}

New technologies enable an item to be identified nearby or at a distance. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

Larry George is a retired Air Force clinical laboratory officer and currently serving as a contract project manager for the Center for Partnerships in Research and Technology (CPRT) in the Office of the Assistant Air Force Surgeon General for Medical Modernization. CPRT has projects and personnel assigned at Falls Church, Virginia, San Antonio, Texas and Biloxi, Mississippi.

In a previous blog post, I reported on a research project sponsored by the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General at the 81st Medical Group Hospital, Keesler Air Force Base in South Mississippi. The project, which uses Automated Identification and Data Collection (AIDC) applications, seeks to improve clinical and business processes. AIDC includes technologies such as Radiofrequency ID (RFID), ultrasound, bar codes and infrared that allows an item to be identified nearby, in the case of bar codes, or at a distance, using RFID.

An additional proof-of-concept project is underway in the hospital’s Central Sterile Supply (CSS) to validate the initial positive return on investment estimate. This application uses both bar codes and RFID to support surgical tray and instrument tracking. The two-dimensional bar codes (approximately 4 mm square) are electrochemically etched into the stainless steel surgical instruments, uniquely identify each instrument as well as its type, and are linked to information in the system data base. The accompanying picture shows a tech applying a 2D bar code as well as example instruments that have been marked.

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VIDEO: Tour of McMurdo General Hospital [Dispatches from Antarctica]

Filed under Life Sciences, Videos by Armed with Science on November 21, 2010 at 9:12 am {one comment}

This is the 30th entry in the Armed with Science series, Dispatches from Antarctica. The series features Air Force Lt. Col. Ed Vaughan’s first-hand experiences on OPERATION: DEEP FREEZE, the Defense Department’s support of National Science Foundation research in Antarctica.

6 November 2010, McMurdo Station, Antarctica

In today’s video, U.S. Air Force Maj (Dr.) Greg Richert, flight surgeon, gives a tour of McMurdo General Hospital. Maj Richert treats both civilians and military personnel at McMurdo Station and coordinates patient transport back to New Zealand for patients that need to be treated off continent.

During the tour, Maj Richert walks us through the facilities, including the hyperbaric chamber, and introduces us to several hospital staff.
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TEDxPentagon: What are the Human Stories?

Filed under Cyber Security, Education & Culture, Technology, Videos by Armed with Science on November 18, 2010 at 4:31 pm {no comments}

Liz Lopez is a social media intern at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

If you browse the listing of TEDx events happening around the world, you can see that each event usually includes a theme that unites the broad range of speakers and their stories. TEDxMidAtlantic asked its speakers and audience, “What If?” TEDxNASA presented its “Space to Create.” TEDxUSC wanted people to imagine “Ideas Empowered.” And so the time came for our team to stop and ask ourselves, “What do we want TEDxPentagon to say?”

The original theme was going to be “The Intersection of People and Technology – A New Kind of Military,” a conference aimed at a generation that grew up with cell phones, computers, and the Internet. When the TEDxPentagon team sat down to brainstorm tag lines for our event, we reviewed our speakers and their speeches to see if it still aligned with our original idea. Some of them indeed fit.

TSgt Stuart Wilson will be sharing his experiences of working in cyber and network security for the Air Force. LTG Benjamin Freakley of Army Accessions Command had a thought-provoking title for his talk, “Technology without people is just (very cool) stuff.” COL Geoffrey Ling from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Program (DARPA), with his extensive background in prosthetics research, is presenting how technology makes the impossible probable.

Technology is obviously a large aspect of our military. But we realized that some talks had nothing to do with technology and gadgets. MSgt Julia Watson will be talking about her time on the Marines’ Female Engagement Program in Iraq, and developing a similar program for Afghanistan. EOD technician LT John Pucillo will be telling us why, after losing his left leg to an IED, he reenlisted back into the Navy. And Sarah Hertig will be sharing her experiences as a military spouse, the unspoken heroes of the military community.

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Contributing to Marine Pollution by Washing Your Face [Dispatches from Antarctica]

Filed under Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences, Videos by Armed with Science on November 15, 2010 at 10:29 pm {no comments}

This is the 29th entry in the Armed with Science series, Dispatches from Antarctica. The series features Air Force Lt. Col. Ed Vaughan’s first-hand experiences on OPERATION: DEEP FREEZE, the Defense Department’s support of National Science Foundation research in Antarctica.

1 November 2010, McMurdo Station, Antarctica: Microplastics…Ocean Pollution writ Large

My sister told me to always clip the circles on the plastic six-pack holders. The theory is that such measures may prevent sea creatures from getting caught up in them. I don’t know if that works or not, but it made me think about all the plastics that find their way to the ocean. Turns out that even the so-called biodegradable plastics (made from plant materials) only biodegrade when composted in soil. In the ocean, it seems they float around like all the other trash.

Also, I’ve seen photos and read news stories about gulls, sea turtles, and marine mammals found dead due to entanglement with plastic garbage. Living in the Hawaiian Islands, we hear news about a “discovery” of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling, floating ad hoc plastics dump, is claimed to be larger than the state of Texas? Even if such a thing couldn’t be quantified in that way, as explained by NOAA in their Marine Debris web portal, its mere existence would be significant.

The NOAA Ship Sette unloads its undesirable "catch" from the Pacific Ocean. (Photo: NOAA)

As NOAA states very clearly, “…regardless of the exact size, mass, and location of the “garbage patch,” manmade debris does not belong in our oceans and waterways.”

But what happens over the long haul? Do these plastics mechanically degrade in the ocean and become harmless? According to Dr. Mary Sewell, senior lecturer (professor) at University of Auckland in New Zealand, petroleum-based plastics do break down into smaller bits over a long period of time. And these smaller bits present a whole new range of hazards to marine life, both big and very, very small.

As Dr. Sewell explains in the above video, microplastic particles are generally described as pieces less than 5mm in size, but can be as small as a few microns. However, they don’t only come from large plastics which are broken down over time. They also come directly manufactured at the micro-scale for use in consumer cosmetics and other products.

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