Ruggedized Solar Charging System for Remote Operation

Unattended ground munitions, sensors, and communications systems delivered by air, missile, or rocket face formidable challenges. High deceleration impact during delivery places severe demands on the mechanical strength, while long term continuous operation in a wide variety of environments requires rugged components and a renewable energy source. Additionally, the unit must remain covert requiring low profile and low reflective surfaces. SensorMetrix proposes an impact hardened, environmentally rugged solar power unit for charging onboard secondary batteries. An innovative approach to handling unpredictable lighting situations, such as local solar obstructions, oblique solar incidence and indirect lighting, is proposed to optimize solar power collection. The unit is designed to be operational in a full range of environmental conditions. A smart power management system makes the unit expandable and adaptable to other applications, including multiple battery chemistries, while being compliant to standardized sensor/transducer network protocols. A focused impact testing program using large state-of-the-art gas guns will be undertaken to understand and control damage, and to insure impact resistant designs.