FEEDBACK SYSTEM FOR WEAPONS LOADERS

LOADING WEAPONS ONTO NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AIRCRAFT IS CURREINTLY PERFORMED WITH MANUAL AND POWERED LOADERS. "PUSH-UP" LOADER-S SUFFER FROM NOT HAVING THE ABILITY TO AUTOMATICALLY COMPENSATE FOR AIRCRAFTMOVEMENT CAUSED BY SHIP MOTIONS IN A SEAWAY AND REQUIRE THREE OR FOUR PERSONNEL TO GUIDE THE WEAPONS INTO PLACE. IT IS PROPOSED TO DESIGN AND ANALYZE A SYSTEM THAT MEASURES THE PROXIMITY OF THE LOADER TO THE AIRCRAFT AND USES FEEDBACK TO CONTROL POSITION. THE LOAD BEING LIFTED WILL ALSO BE MEASURED. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED FOR RETROFITTING TO EXISTING LOADERS AS WELL AS FOR USE IN NEW DESIGNS. THE TECHNICAL OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM. TASK 1 WILL ESTABLISH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SYSTEM. A SURVEY OF AVAILABLE SENSORS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN TASK 2. CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS FOR POWERED AND NON-POWERED LOADERS WILL BE PREPARED IN TASK 3. A PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF THE MOST PROMISING CONCEPT WILL BE PREPARED IN TASK 4. THIS DESIGN WILL BE SUITABLEFOR BUILDING AN EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM FOR TESTING IN PHASE II. DOCUMENTATION PREPARED IN TASK 5 WILL CONSIST OF A DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM, AN EVALUATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF THE SYSTEM, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PHASE I. DESIGN DRAWINGS AND SPECIFICATIONS WILL BE INCLUDEDAND APPENDIXES.