Electronic Textile Personal Area Network Soldier Enhancement System

To address the Army’s need for Electronic Textile Enabled Personal Area Networks (EPAN) for Ground and Air Soldiers, Intellisense Systems, Inc. proposes to develop an Electronic teXtile Personal Area Network Soldier Enhancement (EXPANSE) system based on optimization of fabrication and assembly processes to advance the manufacturability of previously developed etextile conductive materials and associated low-profile connectors. Specifically, the innovation in automated manufacturing processes will enable EXPANSE to advance beyond the experimental laboratory stage to a higher technical and manufacturing maturity. As a result, this process offers an improved path toward affordable, mass produced, reliable EPAN components, which directly addresses the Army’s requirements. In Phase I, Intellisense performed a comprehensive review of existing etextile and USB power and data connector fabrication methods. Based on the Phase I research, the EXPANSE team determined that existing fabrication methods were too labor intensive, and could be considerably improved through design for manufacture, automation, and introduction of parallel assembly operations. Intellisense investigated risks, benefits, and costs associated with various connector manufacturing techniques including machining, investment casting, and metal injection molding. In Phase II, Intellisense will develop, demonstrate, validate, and advance the EXPANSE design to technical readiness level (TRL) 6 and manufacturing readiness level (MRL) 5, leading to delivery of 25 working prototypes for use in an Army-designated demonstration event. Intellisense will also deliver a comprehensive manufacturing plan for scale-up to automated fabrication methods, a cost model for volume production, and a final report that includes comprehensive safety assessments.