AUTOMATED ALL-WEATHER CARGO TRANSFER SYSTEM

THIS INITIATIVE LINKS RELATIVE MOTION PROBLEMS BETWEEN SHIPS AND LIGHTERS I LOTS ENVIRONMENTS DURING HEAVY SEAS TO AN OVERALL NEED FOR AN IMPROVED CARGO HANDLING SYSTEM. PRESENT METHODS AND HARDWARE REPRESENT WORLD WAR II TECHNOLOGY. A MODULAR BARGE INTERFACE SYSTEM USING A COMPUTER-CONTROLLED, ELECTRO-HYDRAULICALLY ACTUATED, CARGO TRANSFER SYSTEM COULD SAFELY AND RELIABLY HANDLE CONTAINERIZED OR BREAKBULK CARGO IN CONDITIONS ABOVE SS3 AND POSSIBLE SS6. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY WOULD BE APPLIED TO DEVELOP A VERY INTELLIGENT ROBOTIC CARGO HANDLING SYSTEM TO LOAD/UNLOAD SHIPS AND TO INTEGRATE CARGO TRANSFER WITH LIGHTERAGE SEAWAY MOTION. THE SYSTEM WOULD BE MODULAR FOR DEPLOYMENT. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR HAS ASSEMBLED A TEAM THAT UNDERSTANDS THE ARMY'S PROBLEM AND CAN DESIGN AND FABRICATE ADVANCED SYSTEMS HARDWARE FOR DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND PRODUCTION. THE TEAM DRAWS ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE FROM THIS NATION'S MOST ADVANCED R&D PROGRAMS, SUCH AS FUSION REACTOR DEVELOPMENT UNDERWAY AT PRINCETON AND ROBOTICS/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR MAJOR INDUSTRY LEADERS. OTHER SELECTED EXPERIENCE INCLUDES ALMOST 30 YEARS IN AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS AND ALMOST 10 YEARS IN DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURE OF MOTION SIMULATORS. THE TEAM CAN TAKE THIS ADVANCED CONCEPT FROM INCEPTION THROUGH TO FINAL CONFIGURATION AS AN ALL-WEATHER ARMY CAPABILITY.