Planetary Gear

A Humvee made by American General.

(Credit: AM General)

Lithium-ion battery manufacturer EnerDel has signed an 18-month, $1.29 million contract with the U.S. Army to design and test hybrid battery options for the Humvee.

Trying to power the iconic fuel-guzzling High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV aka Humvee) with a battery, may seem like trying to put out a fire with a garden hose. But a lithium-ion battery system can deliver a lot of power from a battery quickly, giving a truck like the Humvee the thrust it requires.

EnerDel, a subsidiary of Ener1, will collaborate with the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) on four possible power systems that could be implemented in the XM1124 version of the Humvee.

The company, which specializes in battery cell chemistry as well as the electronics and battery system designs, said it already has two viable options. EnerDel has developed a lithium-tatinate system in conjunction with Argonne National Laboratory that could accommodate the acceleration and hard braking required for such a powerful vehicle like the Humvee. It also has a lithium-manganese system that would give a vehicle extra-long range and allow electronics to be run off the battery for extended periods of time before needing to be recharged.

As part of the 18-month contract, EnerDel will also be involved in testing the systems under "extreme performance simulations." In addition to putting the test vehicles through the usual Humvee paces of wading through water and mountain climbing, there will also be an endurance test.

That will include seeing how a hybrid Humvee fares as a power plant for a field hospital or temporary military post. The requirement makes perfect sense given the ease with which a Humvee can be transported to hard-to-reach areas. One of its key features has always been that it could be dropped in to virtually any terrain by parachute.

A Humvee being parachuted out of a plane.

(Credit: AM General)

The hybrid Humvee will also be more stealthy. Anyone who's had a close call with a Prius knows how dangerously silent hybrids can be in total battery mode. The hybrid version of the Humvee will have a powered-down "silent watch" mode that will allow it to run with its diesel generator off, reducing not only its noise, but also its thermal signature to avoid detection.

As always with major military project announcements, the company involved was quick to point out the down-the-road commercial application of its technology.

"In keeping with a long tradition, we also expect that innovations perfected here will have important benefits for the commercial markets," EnerDel President Rick Stanley said in a a statement.

There has already been interest in Raser Technologies' H3E, a plug-in hybrid version of a Hummer-branded SUV called the H3. While not truly a Hummer (the civilian version of the Humvee), the "Hummer-light" descendant has garnered the interest of even the most discerning Hummer enthusiasts.

So if EnerDel's batteries might be good enough to power a Hummvee, why haven't commercial automakers been knocking? They have actually. The company has signed research partnerships of varying commitment levels with Think Global, Fisker Automotive, Volvo, and Nissan. Its parent company, Ener1, is also working with U.S. utilities to develop smart grid storage units.

While the U.S. military has several incarnations of airplane drones running on various alternative fuel sources, it's not something the average person, or even company, can go out and buy.

That might be changing.

BlueBird Aero Systems and Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies announced Thursday that they've co-developed the Boomerang, the "world's first commercial fuel cell Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)."

So far the Boomerang only seems to have flight approval for Israel, but it's about to be unveiled next week at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference in Washington, D.C., which could garner it significantly more attention and interest.

The plane contains a 2kg hydrogen fuel cell power pack called the Aeropak made by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. The company claims it can provide 900Wh (Watt-hours) of power allowing the Boomerang to fly for over nine hours straight. In addition to supporting flight, the power pack can also support ancillary devices like electro-optical sensors, infrared cameras, and laser designators.

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies is the same company that developed the power packs for the Hyfish fuel cell-powered "flying car" as well as a wide assortment of fuel cells for remote control cars and educational products.

This might be the first print ad ever for a fuel cell-powered UAS.

(Credit: BlueBird Aero Systems)

An unmanned aerial vehicle that's intended to use a combination of solar power and stored electricity is being developed by Ascent Solar Technologies and Bye Aerospace, both companies announced Tuesday.

(Credit: Bye Aerospace)

Ascent Solar will be supplying flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules designed for Bye's drone, the Silent Sentinel.

Bye will be using a Williams International FJ33 turbofan engine that will draw power from stored electrical power in a lithium-ion battery and the photovoltaic panels on the plane.

The result will be a quiet, low-emission hybrid UAV with added endurance, according to Bye.

The Silent Sentinel is intended for military surveillance purposes, but could also be used in the commercial world for things like pipeline and power line inspection, forest fire watch, and aerial photography.

While Bye said it has had proposal meetings with U.S. government officials, no contract for the vehicle has yet been signed with the U.S. military.

Bye will not be the first to combine solar panels with a drone-type aircraft. British defense contractor Qinetiq built and tested the Zephyr, a 66-pound glider that flew an unofficial record 54 hours straight (according to Qinetiq's own report) over White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in 2007. In early 2008, DARPA announced it was developing the Vulture, a solar-powered aircraft that would "fly" for 5 years straight, though arguably that UAV could be considered more of a satellite in orbit.

The Idea is a light-use plug-in electric hybrid intended for commercial fleets.

(Credit: Bright Automotive)

Start-up Bright Automotive unveiled a light-use vehicle on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that gets 100 mpg for its first 50 miles.

The Idea, as the plug-in hybrid utility vehicle is called, uses battery power almost exclusively for the first 30 miles when starting with a fully charged battery. It then moves to the electric with gas supplement system found on any typical hybrid vehicle.

Because of this 30-mile electric start, Bright Automotive estimates that in a 50-mile drive the Idea consumes half a gallon of gas, getting it roughly the equivalent of 100 mpg. On a total drive of 70 miles, the Idea uses about one gallon of gas, giving the car "a mileage equivalent of 70 mpg."

Bright Automotive openly clarifies that their mileage count includes that 30-mile electric head start. Given the vehicle's target audience, the odd assessment of what would otherwise amount to a 40 mpg plug-in hybrid might be fair.

The Idea uses low-rolling resistance tires and is built from lightweight materials consisting of a high-tech aluminum from Alcoa and advanced composites to contribute to the vehicle's fuel efficiency. It has a one-ton cargo capacity and a passenger seat that can convert into a mobile office.

In other words, the Idea is not a highway car intended for the masses, but a light-use truck for commercial and military utility fleets. Utility trucks don't typically travel long distances and are often returned to a garage where the vehicle could be fully charged.

The Indiana-based company has applied for $450 million in federal loans from the Department of Energy to mass-produce the plug-in vehicle.

The U.S. government itself is not just a potential lender, but also a potential customer. Last January, the Army announced plans to replace up to 28,000 gas-powered vehicles with light-use EVs in the coming years. Global Electric Motorcar, a division of Chrysler, was the first manufacturer to win a contract for the U.S. Army initiative, and would be an obvious competitor for Bright Automotive if it gets up and running.

Granted the federal loan money, Bright Automotive says it could be in production by 2012 and could be mass-producing 50,000 vehicles a year starting in 2013. Including suppliers, the company would create more than 5,000 U.S. jobs, according to CEO John E. Waters.

In addition to the unveiling in Washington, D.C., Waters held a telephone press conference.

While he was asked several times to elaborate, he would not give any hint at how much the Idea costs.

"If I give you a number, consumers will then look at it like a consumer vehicle and that's not the impression we want to give. Our commercial customers will lease them usually on a monthly basis," said Waters.

Waters did hint that Bright Automotive is looking into an adaptation for a highway legal version for consumers.

"We have designed the vehicle platform to be extremely flexible. We are analyzing it for markets that would include a common power train, and a common chassis for both domestic and international markets," he said.

While Bright Automotive's business plan is based on private capital, the requested loan money from the federal government would ramp up production, giving the company a better chance to survive against the automotive legacy companies, according to Waters.

"We are impatient. We know every day we wait is a day less we have the Idea on the roads, cleaning up American skies, and providing people with green transportation as we see the titans of the world advancing in the world of transportation," he said.

While the company may have only started in 2008, it's not exactly an outsider. Its partners, many of whom have said they are also interested in being fleet customers, include Alcoa, Cox Communications, and Frito Lay.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Monday put forth the Pentagon's 2010 budget proposal, essentially a complete overhaul to the way the military spends money.

It would change the way lucrative government contracts are handed out, or in more official terms, the process of "procurement, acquisition, and contracting."

The budget includes a myriad of cuts, but there are also some interesting additions that show the military's increased interest in robotics and communications, particularly in unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs).

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (left) with Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General James Cartwright, at Monday's press conference.

(Credit: Department of Defense/Cherie Cullen)

Proposed additions include buying 30 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for 2010 (513 over the next five years); increasing the military's budget for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support by about $2 billion; increasing the number of "cyber experts" in training from 80 to 250 by 2011; and increasing the number of UAVs like the Predator.

Experts have described the Predator as the most dangerous military robot currently out there, noting that 11 out of the 20 al-Qaeda leaders the U.S. military has apprehended have been tracked down via a drone strike. Gates himself described the successful use of UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan during his budget proposal speech.

"This will include: Fielding and sustaining 50 Predator and Reaper class unmanned aerial vehicle orbits by FY '11 and maximizing their production," Gates said. "This capability, which has been in such high demand in both Iraq and Afghanistan, will now be permanently funded in the base budget. It will represent a 62 percent increase in capability over the current level and 127 percent from a year ago," Gates said.

Politicians are already voicing their opinions on why or why not certain parts of the budget proposal should pass.

The battle of the defense budget will test whether Americans want change of a fundamental nature on the ways things are done in their military.

While it may amount to a showdown between the political old and new guards, it isn't necessarily a case of legacy defense contractors versus upstart tech companies. Robots in the military may bring to mind iRobot's PackBot, but the UAVs mentioned by Gates are actually produced by teams of people employed by standby defense contractors.

The Predator and the Reaper are built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, an affiliate of General Atomics that has been a government contractor to agencies including the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and the National Science Foundation for more than 50 years.

Manufacturers and suppliers for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters include heavyweight contractors Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, and General Electric.

A scientist demonstrates a piece of flexible display made with stainless-steel foil.

(Credit: U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army has committed to renewing its partnership and providing another $50 million to Arizona State University's flexible-display research facility, the university announced on Thursday.

That brings the Army's total investment since the Flexible Display Center (FDC) started in 2004 to $100 million.

The announcement comes in conjunction with a two-day event in Tempe, Ariz., near ASU, in which the U.S. Army and Flexible Display Center plan to showcase their progress to the public.

So why is the military so keen on flexible displays?

It's all about information and communications...and possibly profit.

A mock-up of a roll-out electronic map provides just one creative example of how flexible displays might be useful to the U.S. Army.

(Credit: U.S. Army)

Flexible displays are paper-thin electronic screens that can be bent, mounted onto objects, and sewn into clothing. Soldiers could easily wear them on their sleeves or wrists, and use them to receive critical data in real time in the form of instructions, photos, or maps.

In addition, flexible displays can be made more durable than regular LCD screens, allowing them to get banged around in combat and still work. They also consume only a fraction of the power of LCDs.

That doesn't just make them good for the military; it also makes for cool tech products.

That commercial value is something the military, ASU, and its partners clearly have in mind.

Chrysler's General Electric Motorcar delivered the first six, out of the thousands of NEVs the U.S. Army plans to lease in the coming years.

(Credit: U.S. Army/General Electric Motorcars)

The Big 3 of Detroit aren't the only ones singing the praises of electric vehicles this week.

The U.S. Army on Monday announced an initiative to potentially replace up to 28,000 gas-powered vehicles at more than 155 Army installations with Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) in the coming years.

NEVs are not highway-legal electric vehicles, but rather light-use electric vehicles with a maximum speed of 25 mph. The Army intends to use them for nontactical things like on-base transportation for visitors, or maintenance personal and their equipment, according to Paul Bollinger, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Energy & Partnerships.

Plans are already in the works to replace 4,000 gas-powered vehicles over the next three years with leased NEVs through a partnership with the General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. government's main procurement agency.

Global Electric Motorcar (GEM), a division of Chrysler, delivered the first six NEVs to Fort Myer, Virginia on Monday. Two of the NEVs are four-seat sedans. The other four are two-seat trucks with flatbeds and a payload capacity of 1,000 pounds. Both models have a range of 30 miles at 25 mph on a full eight-hour battery charge, and cost about $10,200 each.

While GEM is the first manufacturer to have won a contract for this initiative, it will not be the only supplier. Contracts are still open for bid to any company on the GSA's approved vendor list, Bollinger said.

The Army expects to replace a total of 800 army vehicles with NEVs this year, and replace 1,600 per year for 2010 and 2011.

By replacing 4,000 gas-powered vehicles with NEVs the Army will save 11 million gallons of fuel and 115,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the 6-year life of each vehicle, according to a statement from U.S. Army.

As part of the lease agreement, GEM will take care of battery replacement and maintenance costs.

One of the leading reasons the U.S. Army ultimately decided to go with NEVs as opposed to hydrogen or another alternative fuel vehicle, according to Bollinger, is that NEVs require little infrastructure to implement.

"These plug into any three-prong electrical outlet. There's nothing big or complicated about it whatsoever. Most will go into depots where they come into a central area to be charged," Bollinger said during a press teleconference.

The Army has estimated no more than $200 per vehicle for implementation, in the event that a three-prong electrical outlet is not readily available for the NEV to plug into and needs to be installed. And it expects to pay about $400 in electrical power for each vehicle per year, according to Bollinger.

While a potential 28,000 vehicles is good news for those electric vehicle manufacturers on the GSA's list of approved vendors, there could be even more orders soon up for grabs from two other branches of the military.

"No one from the Air Force has told me face-to-face that they would like to move in this area, but I've heard it in back channel communications. But the Navy has told me. They are interested in piggy-backing on the Army's order," said Bollinger.

GEM's four-seater sedan.

(Credit: U.S. Army/General Electric Motorcars)

LED manufacturer Cree has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to supply over 4,200 recessed LED lights for the Pentagon, the company announced Tuesday. Financial details were not disclosed.

Testing commissioned by the U.S. government determined that Cree's LR24 recessed LED lights would offer a 22 percent energy reduction compared with fluorescent lights, and save the Pentagon 140 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

The government also commissioned a cost analysis that showed the lights would yield a payback of less than four years once things like energy savings, maintenance, and the expense of properly disposing mercury-laden fluorescent bulbs were taken into account, according to Cree.

The new lighting will be installed in Wedge 5 of the Pentagon, coinciding with the major Pentagon renovation already under way in that area.

The purchase also happens to follow the advice of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan recently proposed by President-elect Barack Obama in his January 3 address.

As part of his plan to reduce reliance on foreign oil and create more jobs, President-elect Obama has suggested that the government will "renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient."

Analysts have predicted that LED lighting will replace incandescent bulbs, making LED lighting manufacturers a bright spot to watch for within the struggling tech industry.

Before: A Pentagon room before Cree's LED lights were installed.

(Credit: Cree)

After: The same room at the Pentagon after Cree's LED lights were installed.

(Credit: Cree)

The Talon IV lifts a 38-pound cinder block off an IED. It also sports an AN/PSS-14 minesweeper so soldiers can patrol for mines out of harm's reach.

(Credit: Foster-Miller)

Foster-Miller, a subsidiary of Qinetiq North America's Technology Solutions Group, released a new version of its Talon bomb-disposal robot on Thursday.

The latest Talon IV Engineer mine-detecting, counter-IED robot will give soldiers more capability to remotely clear debris, minefields, and other explosive hazards.

The new arm on this latest version, which is 7 feet long and can swivel, will allow users to remotely explore and retrieve from places that were previously too hard for robots to reach, such as garbage dumpsters, abandoned vehicles, and behind guard rails.

The arm has also been fitted with a stronger grasp and can lift up to 65 pounds, according to Foster-Miller. Because of this, the Talon IV robot can be used to lift heavy debris, as well as be mounted with a portable mine detector.

The Talon robot controller has also been upgraded.

The new "Operator Control Unit" radio will be able to transmit video digitally via 802.11, COFDM, or analog. It also includes a touchscreen and game pad for controls.

Over 2,500 Talon robots are already in use by the U.S. military, according to Qinetiq .

The company said in a statement that it believes this latest Talon robot could be of particular use in Afghanistan, a country still littered with land mines. According to United Nations estimates, about 200,000 Afghans have been maimed by "explosive remnants of war" in Afghanistan.

The Talon bomb-disposal robots are already a U.S. military favorite, so there's no reason to doubt that this latest version will be adopted as well.