Field-Expedient Combat Load Assessment Device (CLAD)

Field combat load assessment for combat training and combat mission personnel load management is an identified military need. The combat load assessment device or CLAD must meet several requirements not found in off-the-shelf commercial or consumer weighing devices. Weight requirements, accuracy requirements, functional requirements, and cost requirements prohibit the use of currently OTS hardware. In the subject proposal a low cost, high accuracy field weighing system is proposed. This system is extremely rugged in that all mechanical axes are inherently overload protected. Low cost sensing elements utilizing Hall effect sensor technology provide a robust electromechanical weight sensor. A tri-corner mechanical design ensures stability on uneven surfaces while integrated inclinometers provide automatic correction for incline induced error. The expected wide range thermal environment requires Hall effect sensor compensation via Hall effect gain trimming, magnet thermal compensation, or thermal sensor based signal conditioning. The relative simplicity of the electronic conditioning necessary for Hall effect measurements and simplicity of the mechanical sensing elements render this design likely to succeed from a performance perspective. AMTI's 10-year history as a manufacturer of low-cost medical force measurement and weighing technologies incorporating similar Hall effect technology ensures a high probability of success of this project.