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More power!

The Pentagon\'s quest for lighter, more reliable power is in the homestretch.

Federal News Network Staff

September 30, 2008 7:21 am

2 min read

By Max Cacas
FederalNewsRadio

Just about anyone who has an mp3 player, or a cellphone, or a portable GPS unit knows that somewhere along the way, the battery runs down. That’s been a problem for the military since they first began using flashlights. But now the Pentagon is in the final week of a million-dollar competition to develop the next generation of wearable power for the warfighter.

Last February, we reported to you that the Pentagon’s Defense Research and Engineering Office was in search of individuals and organizations to participate in the Wearable Power Prize Contest. Now, nearly eight months later, 169 initial entries have been whittled down to just 20 in the final round.

Karen Burrows is a Power Prize competition program manager. Speaking to us from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, Burrows explains that around lunchtime this past Sunday, the final 20 competitors took their portable electricity generating systems, which are composed of different kinds of batteries and fuel cells, and strapped them to a mannequin wearing a nylon vest, similar to those worn by soldiers in the field. The vests, in turn, are connected to computer-driven equipment designed to simulate the electricity demand from combat radios, GPS units, and other gear for a continuous period of 92 hours.

The goal, says Burrows, is to develop a system that can provide ground fighters with lightweight, wearable power for the next generation of electronic combat gear.

The objective is for each system to produce 920 watt-hours per kilogram of energy. That translates to 96 hours of operation, the system had to weigh 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) or less, and had to last approximately 4 days.

The four-day long “bench test” is the next to the last phase of the wearable power prize competition. And then, says Burrows, the last big test comes this Saturday, October 4th bright and early 7am Pacific time.

The final phase is what we call a “field test”. On that day, there will be stations set up here at the Marine Corps Combat Center. The competing systems will be powering both military and civilian equipment, and that test lasts four hours. Those teams that make it through the test, and going to the end will qualify for our prize.

First prize in the competition is one million dollars, second prize is a half-million dollars, and third prize is $250,000 dollars.

And by the way, Burrows says that if you’re in southern California this Saturday morning, the welcome mat has been rolled out for the public at the Twentynine Palms Marine Base if you’d like to see the final round of the Wearable Power Prize competition in person.

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On the Web:
FederalNewsRadio – Charging the Light Brigade (Feb. 5, 2008)
DoD – Wearable Power Prize