U.S. Army Gun-Monitoring RFID Prototype Gets Upgrade
Featuring Patrick Esposito II, president and COO, Augusta Systems
•Integration Story: U.S. Army's Benét Laboratories
Used with permission from RFID Journal, Inc.
Developers from Augusta Systems and the Army's Benét Labs have crafted a
One year after developing a prototype system to track the rounds fired by U.S. Army battle tanks, the U.S. Army's Benét Laboratories, together with integrator and developer Augusta Systems, has completed a redesign incorporating new sensors and an RFID interrogator deployed at a weapons depot instead of in each tank. The revamped version, the lab claims, will make it possible for military personnel to monitor RFID data for its tanks out of regional central locations.
The sensor device was designed to count the rounds fired by M1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks in the field, thereby helping the Army track when the weapons need to be serviced. A weapon fired too often can fail to operate properly and, in some instances, fire a blast inward toward the tank operators. Currently, vehicle and weapon operators manually log the number of times a weapon was fired, along with the types of ammunition used. This information is then evaluated by personnel at the weapons depot.
Patrick Esposito II The initial system prototyped in 2006 included micro-electro-mechanical sensors (MEMS) that counted each firing of the weapon by detecting the pressure created by each shot (see U.S. Army Developing RFID System to Track Weapons Usage). The latest system, in contrast, will use American Science and Technology (AST) piezoelectric sensors, which contain a crystal that generates an electric current commensurate to the pressure, acceleration, strain or force applied to it. Piezoelectric sensors are more durable than MEMS, says Augusta Systems' president and chief operating officer, Patrick Esposito II, because the thin flexible piezoelectric membrane easily conforms to the surface of the gun barrel. In addition, he adds, such sensors can better withstand extreme temperatures and have a stronger serviceable life. Click Here To Download:•Integration Story: U.S. Army's Benét Laboratories