RISE Robotics Munitions Lift Enabling Technology

The Air Force has a national defense-related need in the area of redesigning/modernizing one of the Materiel Handling Units used for loading munitions, i.e. the MHU-83. Specifically, end-users within weapons and munitions units across Air Force bases have identified many issues with the hydraulics, mechanical line breaks, fluid leaks, and part obsolescence, among others.  Currently, the MHU-83 platform is primarily driven by hydrostatic and hydraulic pumps which are driven by a JP-8 diesel internal combustion engine, resulting in high maintenance attrition rates throughout the unit that pose problems for the users.  The main challenge for these pieces of equipment is “uncommanded motion”, which results from the nature of hydraulics. RISE’s breakthrough has developed a completely new electromechanical alternative to hydraulic cylinders (the RISE cylinder) for heavy equipment and machinery, which will address the issues with legacy designs.  RISE technologies can enhance Bomb Loaders by replacing the complex hydraulic subsystems with RISE Cylinder™, eliminating hydraulic drift which is the root-cause of uncommanded motion which operates entirely off electricity, enabling simplified machine maintenance and diagnostic procedures assuring a long service life. Unlike hydraulics, RISE Cylinder can manipulate heavy loads with tight and smooth control, assuring a safe and satisfying operation to end users. This will also result in faster loading times, probably twice as fast, and therefore more effective aircraft generation. RISE Cylinders also consume significantly less energy than hydraulic systems - enabling longer runtimes for both or either internal combustion engines or battery banks.