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DARPA continues lead role in promoting unique engineering

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) held its twentieth Technology conference this past June in Denver, Co, and for a first-time attendee it was three days of casual discussion of the fantastic. Representatives from different branches of the organization present various projects that they either are interested in or that are currently under development and many attendees are looking for DARPA support for their company's work. There is a reciprocal effort to this at the conference -- speakers a DARPATech in many cases, close their presentations with an exhortation to attendees for assistance in development of their program. The atmosphere is almost collegiate -- reminiscent of the days of students waiting to place their senior papers before the professors for approval. Many attendees hastily seribble notes in the pages of the conference guide book then spend late evenings initializing new proposals.

This year's conference illustrated the shift in priority for national security by our country's leaders. Cited in several presentations, the primary issues are an increased need for protection from biological attack and from information attack.

There are two points that are important to bear in mind when discussing DARPA -- DARPA's primary task is the support of research into the unthinkable. While that brings to mind the late Sen. Goldwater's remark about "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," that's the essence of their charter, and they are the only government agency charged with that task. (It's difficult to define what is "unthinkable" anymore -- mainstream authors like Stephen King, Tom Clancy and Bruce Sterling, amongst many, have used bio- and electronic-warfare as elements in their stories.) It's suggested that there is work within this context for at least the next 20-25 years, with the target to not just cope with situations, but instead increase the difficulty for other powers to bring them to light.

While the work that DARPA funds is initially for military application, much of it eventually makes its way to civilian markets. Today's internet was parented by the DARPAnet project. Particle beam and laser weapon technologies that became part of the Reagan-era Star Wars program became the basis for industrial and medical laser applications today. And so on.

There are seven major technical offices within DARPA, and not all are limited to addressing the two problems mentioned so far. In the first day of the conference, attendees saw presentations on bio-mimetics and electronic "dog noses;" electroactive polymers and artificial retinas; a 1 kW-Class gas turbine the size of a soda can; a 0.5 kg water still as big as a coffee mug, and another purifier that looks like a fountain pen. Photonics. Non-cooled IR sensors. Reconnaissance robots that can map an environment as it moves about (as it recognizes points that it has already passed through, it makes corrections to the map). And MEMS -- every other speaker seemed to have a project that involved MEMS technology, what may be the most significant means to accomplish the creation of many devices today. One DARPA staffer commented that as the internet was to DARPA in the 70s, so MEMS is to DARPA in the 90s. And those were just some high-lights of Day One. Some of the organization's work is more pragmatic -- one program evolved when it was realized how much weight loss would occur by replacing the 14 CRT displays in each AWACs aircraft with flat panels (over 1,000 lbs.).

But not everyone was pleased with the new direction of DARPA's focus. Because DARPA is allotted a finite amount in a given fiscal year, a shift in priority means someone s pet project gets less. Still, DARPA is recognized as a primary source for backing of research and development. They receive about 20% more funds to distribute than other government agencies such as NASA and BMDO (Ballistic Missile Defense Organization), all of whom have become key to R & D in the US today. As one attendee observed, industry support in R & D comes largely in offering of matching funds. Industry has come to expect short concept-to-product life cycles, with trends like JIT manufacturing, and the expectation is for R & D departments to follow suit. The expectation, lamented the attendee, will be that in five to ten years, industry leaders will be screaming at the R & D staffs, "Why hadn't you thought of that?" The answer, of course, is that the idea was there, but there wasn't enough support. Unlike other departments in a comp any, R & D has never lent itself to micro-management.

Though the primary purpose for DARPA's existence is quite serious, it doesn't exclude them from a sense of humor. A video segment illustrating a robot's built-in deterrent against being casually picked up was introduced as being tried out on a few expendable grad students (conductive plates turn the robot into an electric joy buzzer). A gentleman following one presenter who exceeded the allotted time quipped how with all that electronic technology, he couldn't get a watch. And DARPA-logo'd pens handed Out in one room had barrels containing bubble solution and a blowing wand, lending a child-like counterpoint to discussions down the ball.

"The field of wearable and ubiquitous computing is becoming more and more socially acceptable. With the next generation of kids coming up, it won't even be funny. They are so technologically aware. Regarding the future of distributed computing, it might not be such a bad thing. It may have a positive short-term effect: it would probably decrease the crime rate if we were all 'plugged-in.' With regard to total immersion of individuals into interconnectivity, I cannot say if it is inevitable -- that would mean we're not in control of our own destinies."

Wendy Amai, Senior Technical Staff Member

Mobile Robotics Department, Intelligent Systems and Robotics

Sandia National Laboratories 

When Proven Wins Over Exotic

Three executives from the Saginaw Division of Thomson Industries raised the point that the simpler mechanism of a ballscrew can prove a better selection over hydraulic or pneumatic actuators.

Traditionally the divisions ballscrews have been applied in aerospace for fight controls and as components in research programs developed by other companies in the current space station for example a crystal-growing experiment uses a ballscrew that actuates of a mere 0.001 in per day. Michael floney. Senior VP and General Manager of Aerospace Government & Defense indicates that some programs like support for the B-52 and the C-5 are expected to continue well into the next century. Thomson/Saginow also is partnered with Lockheed/Martin to supply ball screws for the X88 Pilotless Vehicle.

Ball screws have been used in fight controls for 60 years according to David Lange. Director of Product Engineering A G & D (also a member of the society of Aerospace Engineers). The units are well proven as they are structural predictable and invulnerable to fire and the failure of close proximity equipment such as the eventuality of a turbine blade break. More recently ballscrews are finding application in rocket engine gimbals engine thrust vectoring and prime flight controls like spollers and pylon conversion actuators traditionally areas of hydraulic actuation.

John Kinney Director Product Marketing A C & D adds that Thomson/Saginaw ballscrews are used in the pvion conversion actuators in the V22 Osprey aircraft converting the rotors from horizontal to vertical flight and back agin. That particular design is a telescoping configuration with redundant uranium sleeves through the IDs. The ballscrews were actually subjected to ballstic Testing, demonstrating their capability to withstand battle environments, giving the V22 the capability of flying into the midst of ground combat. The Osprey needs to make in flight status change quickly else it becomes a rather large rock so to provide fast movement the ballscrews are made with high helicals and combined with fast spinning A similar configuration moves the thrust reverser screws on a CF6 engine of over 100 inches per second.

As the aircraft industry in shifting to simpler more robust mechanical controls the automotive industry is moving towards mechanical braking systems according to Lange Besides an increase in reliability there is less impact on the environment caused by the disposal of harmful hydraulic fluids Having ball screws individually controlled at each whell also removes tha dditional apparatus of the hydraulic brake lines and other components.

Additionally, Thomson/Saginow ballscrews are used for rockets adding control to the engine cone deployment engine gimbals and thrust vector control plus fin control retrofit Kits to convert dumb bomb into smart bombs. In the case of the engine cone system ballscrews are made of titanium to withstand heat better than other controlling devices.

IBM and IDSA hold "Designabout" on Pervasive Computing

IBM and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) are co-sponsoring a symposium to explore the role that computers will play in the next 25 years. The two-day "Designabout on Pervasive Computing" will be held December 1-3, 1999, at IBM's Executive Conference Center in Palisades, NY.

The Designabour will build upon the "talkabour" concept -- small, intimate discussion groups where participants are encouraged to present their ideas and voice their challenges--and take it to a much larger discussion forum.

IDSA will invite 10 design futurists to explore ideas on pervasive computing in areas including, but not limited to: healthcare; medical devices; transportation; sports and fitness; work; and consumer products. The invited designers will be asked to create 2D and 3D presentations with details on the research and thinking to support them. In addition, IBM will invite five futurists and rechnologists and IBM representatives.

"Designers should play an important role in anticipating and conceiving the appliances that will provide the interface between individuals and the information they are seeking," said IBM's Manager of Strategic Design, Robert E. Steinbugler, IDSA.

Information on registering for the Designabour will be posted online at http://www.idsa.org and on IBM's Web site. Since another goal of the conference is to use as little paper as possible, registrants should expect to receive virtually all communications via e-mail.

Formed in 1965, IDSA is the association dedicated to representing the industrial design profession to business, government, education, the media and the general public and to serving that profession's information and networking needs.

Timing is Everything

"The biggest challenges facing the product development industry going into the next millennium are all around. First, time to market -- ensuring that you can hit the critical time-to-market window, not just once, but repeatedly with each new product or product iteration. Missing your window means not getting the initial revenue when you are still alone in the market. Second, it's important to have the right real-time information to insure that you can make critical 'go/no-go' decisions. Finally, capturing and improving on your product development process, which allows you to manage and understand product development, is something that has eluded most companies, yet is the key to success for those who are on top."

Bill King,

Product Manager,

Workgroup Technology corporation

Help-To Go

"Perhaps the most difficult task is to convince OEMs of the need to look beyond their internal development organization. Convincing an OEM to look at external resources and solutions -- technology outsourcing -- will be one of the biggest challenges facing companies in the new millennium."

Ron Davis,

VP of Marketing & Product Planning

Peerless Systems