ARMY AL&T
A DIME FOR A CAROUSEL RIDE
DEVCOM CBC electrical engineer James Severtsen demonstrates how the DIMES are inserted into the carousel attachment on the FLIR Skyraider quadcopter. The quadcopter can then remotely drop the expendable microsensors to create a larger system of DIMES that work together to alert warfighters of nearby threats. (Photo by Ellie White, DEVCOM CBC)
DEPLOYABLE MICROSENSORS
The best chemical agent protection is knowing where not to go.
T
he best way to keep warfighters safe from chemical agents on the battlefield is to know whether an agent is present before they enter the area. Tat requires a new kind of sensor, one that can be placed on the
battlefield in quantity ahead of time by drones or unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to form a meshed network that commu- nicates back to command and control.
Te U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) found a new approach to acquisition to get this entirely novel approach to sens- ing fielded faster than the traditional acquisition cycle allows. To do this, the technology development team at the center changed the acquisition paradigm by shaping the requirements to best take advantage of an emerging technology, rather than develop technology-agnostic requirements and request bids from vendors.
by Brian B. Feeney, Ph.D.
Tey were helped by the recent pace of sensor technological advances within academia and in the microelectronics industry. Tat, coupled with the Army’s need for quickly evolving technol- ogy capabilities and developments, aided researchers in rapidly prototyping and experimenting with the new sensors. Tus, the center’s Deployable Microsensors System Initiative was launched.
IDENTIFYING THE POSSIBLE Te initial challenge was posed by the Defense Treat Reduction Agency’s Joint Science and Technology Office (DTRA JSTO) in 2019: “Was it possible to develop Chemical, Biological, Radio- logical and Nuclear (CBRN) sensors that could be smaller and expendable?” DEVCOM CBC Senior Research Chemist Alan Samuels, Ph.D., took up the challenge and developed a draft of his Leave In-Place Chemical Sensor (LIPCS) concept. Te idea was shared with the chemical biological defense community,
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