July 24, 2019 | International, Land
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (July 23, 2019) – Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), has received its sixth order from the U.S. Army to provide PRC-162 software-defined ground radios for the Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Factor (HMS) program. This sixth order was issued under a multiple award contract that the Army awarded to Rockwell Collins and two other companies in 2016. The contract, which has a $12.7 billion maximum firm-fixed-price with an estimated completion date of March 2026, moves the Army another step closer toward modernizing communications on the battlefield.
The PRC-162 is a two-channel ground radio, both man-portable and vehicle-mountable, that will enable the Army to tap into next-generation communications capabilities such as the Department of Defense's new Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) while maintaining interoperability with legacy waveforms. An open-architecture design also allows for software-upgradeable capabilities in the future.
“Success in today's multi-domain battlespace depends heavily on secure and reliable communications,” said Phil Jasper, president, Mission Systems for Collins Aerospace. “We've applied decades of proven experience in airborne communications to provide the Army with a next-generation ground radio that will give troops a heightened level of situational awareness and a tactical advantage.”
The PRC-162 is a part of Collins Aerospace's TruNet™ networked communications family of products, which includes ground and airborne radios, advanced networking waveforms, applications, and support and services that enable ground and airborne elements to exchange critical data, images, voice and video in real time.
About Collins Aerospace
Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Created in 2018 by bringing together UTC Aerospace Systems and Rockwell Collins, Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio and expertise to solve customers' toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market. For more information, visit CollinsAerospace.com.
About United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. By combining a passion for science with precision engineering, the company is creating smart, sustainable solutions the world needs. For more information about the company, visit our website at www.utc.com or follow us on Twitter: @UTC.
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Working with mentors from Sikorsky, three University of Connecticut engineering seniors are translating their classroom education to the field. Electrical engineering majors Kerry Jones and Joshua Steil, and computer engineering major Ryan Heilemann, are collaborating to build and program an autonomous firefighting drone to battle blazes without a pilot's guidance. “In the world today there's a high prevalence of forest fires, like in California, but the problem is of how to safely put out these fires,” says Steil. “So our project, in essence, is to see if we can start putting out fires without a human driver.” Once finished, the drone will carry a thermal imaging camera to identify a fire, object avoidance technology to steer clear of any obstacles, and a softball-sized fire-extinguishing ball that will be dropped over the flames. The system's technology will be tied together through coding language developed by the students, and will operate based on inputted coordinates. While their drone will only be able to put out a campfire-size blaze, the project is meant to prove that this technology is possible, so that much bigger technology can be engineered in the future, says Heilemann. “The idea is that in the future, on a larger scale, there can be a fleet of unmanned helicopters that can go out and put out forest fires, thereby lowering loss of life,” says Steil. While drones are currently used by fire departments across the country, all of them so far have a pilot who navigates the drone from a distance, and most are used for observation, not fire suppression. “The autonomy definitely makes it different,” says Jones, “and the fire-extinguishing ball, for sure.” Teams in previous years have worked on similar projects with Sikorsky, which provided some guidance on what has worked and what has not. The team looked back on previous projects' reports, including last year's team, which was the first to integrate firefighting capabilities into the drone. While the previous team to work on this project used small thermal sensors called thermopile array sensors, Heilemann says these sensors required the previous drone to be only about six feet from the flames, which was too close for real-world applications. His team decided to use an infrared camera, which allows for more distance from the flames. This year's team had the added benefit of working on their project in UConn's brand new 118,000 square-foot Engineering and Science Building, which features three engineering floors filled with faculty and labs focused on robotics, machine autonomy, and virtual and augmented reality. At Sikorsky, the team is working with a recent UConn School of Engineering alum, Jason Thibodeau, deputy manager of Sikorsky's Flight Controls and Autonomous Systems Department. “He's really helpful. We have phone meetings every Monday, and we tell him what's going on, what we're struggling with, and he reasons with us,” says Jones. Adds Heilemann, “He really wants us to figure our way through issues we have, instead of just giving us a direct solution.” Working with Sikorsky also introduced the UConn seniors to new career options. Jones has accepted an offer with Sikorsky after she graduates, in their autonomy lab as part of their Rotary and Mission Systems department. Steil has accepted a job offer with Sikorsky's parent company, Lockheed Martin, in Massachusetts after graduation. “Working with Sikorsky definitely sparked a greater interest looking into the company as a whole,” he says. Heilemann also decided to go into the aerospace industry, and has found a job doing control and diagnostics at another aerospace company. Most importantly, the collaboration was a chance to get some experience with a top company. “In this project, I get to learn so much about Sikorsky and what they do,” says Steil, “and having a company like that so close to home and have them be our sponsor is definitely an added benefit.” https://dronescrunch.com/autonomous-firefighting-drone/