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Monday, December 19, 2005
By Dianne Claydon
'Tis the season to stop treating U.S. soldiers like Christmas trees, hanging so many gadgets on them they're unable to perform their duties.
Federal procurement officials call it the 'Christmas Tree Effect," and Massachusetts companies are logging sales by meeting the Department of Defense's demand for technologies that are lighter and interoperable.
Among the products being made by Bay State companies are pocket-sized nano-solar battery chargers, micro-size night-vision displays and even less-savvy but still essential accessories such as sunglasses for U.S Navy pilots.
Today's soldiers are loaded down with too many devices that don't share power sources or work together, says Dutch Degay, an engineer at the U.S. Army's Natick Soldier Center's Future Force Warrior Technology program (FFW), which is responsible for the research, development and acquisition of soldier-related technologies.
"We keep hanging ornaments on them, and it's not taken in a holistic sense," Degay said. "That's the 'Christmas Tree Effect.'"
The U.S. Army's vision for 2010 is to streamline the "soldier system," and embed most electronics and power sources into uniforms, according to Degay. Today, soldiers pack as much as 150 pounds of equipment, he said.
Bay state companies are doing their best to help lighten that burden.
Lowell-based Konarka Technologies Inc. was awarded $1.6 million from the Army in May for development of nanotechnology-based materials that convert solar power to electricity. It works at very low levels of light and is flexible and small enough to be placed in a soldier's pocket, according to Konarka executive vice president Doug McGahn.
"The surface area - it is more like a sponge than a solid," McGahn said.
The technology is being tested first as a means to recharge batteries to reduce the need to tote extra batteries. McGahn said he expects it will be embedded into soldiers' uniforms, tents and other systems that require their own power generation. "We can change color patterns and make the material blend in, like camouflage," McGahn said.
Taunton-based Kopin Corp., a maker of microdisplays, pulled in about $10 million in DOD contracts in 2005. Chief Financial Officer Richard Sneider said that he expects the military-contract share of the company's overall revenue to rise above 10 percent next year.
The company, which reported $84 million in 2004 revenue, announced last month its displays were chosen by ITT Industries Night Vision for use in night-vision goggles ITT will supply to the U.S. Army. The liquid-crystal microdisplays provide sight in darkness and through smoke or fog using a thermal imager.
"Our resolution can be better than HDTV resolution, but in a size as small as a postage stamp" said Hong Choi, Kopin's CTO.
While sunglasses may not fit the high tech category, Navy pilots find them essential, according to John Collins, plant manager of Randolph Engineering. The Randolph-based manufacturer has been supplying the DOD with eyewear for 33 years, and is on pace to sell more than 350,000 "Aviator" sunglasses this calendar year - mainly to the U.S. Navy. The DOD procured $1.9 million in Randolph Engineering products in fiscal 2005, according to DOD data.
MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, which is partially funded by the DOD, and other local universities are researching soldier-related technologies and working with the Soldier Center in Natick.
Edwin Thomas, director of the MIT program said startup companies need to realize that integration and interoperability are key to getting contracts with the U.S. Army.
"Imagine you are some great technologist. You form a great startup and come up with a fantastic thing. You build it and market it to the army. You hang it on him (the soldier). You add to his burden and it's not integrated," said Thomas. "That's why we want to miniaturize and integrate it - to avoid that Christmas tree stuff."
Bay State companies working with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center
• The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory - Cambridge Research and development
• Duro Textile Industries - Fall River Textile dyeing, finishing, printing, and coating
• Federal Fabrics-Fibers Inc. - Andover Weaving technology used in temporary structures/tents
• Geo Centers (acquired by Science Applications Int. Corp. - Newton Chemical and biological research, detection, protection and defense
• ICET Inc. - Norwood Chemical and environmental technology
• Konarka Technologies Inc. - Lowell Light-activated power plastic
• Kopin Corp. - Taunton Nano semiconductor manufacturer
• Malden Mills - Lawrence Performance fabrics
• MIT Lincoln Laboratory - Cambridge Advanced electronics
• Randoph Engineering - Randolph Eyewear
• Raytheon Co. - Waltham Electronics, space, IT, technology services and business aviation
• SJR Foods - New Bedford Food service purveyors
Source: U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center
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