August Research Systems, Inc. proposes to establish the feasibility of rapidly deployable, thin-film camouflage coatings for on ground vehicles. The film-based coatings will leverage the robust and expanding vehicle wraps industry, which provides full-vehicle appliqué systems that are digitally printed, self-adhesive, vinyl films that serve as a medium for vivid vehicle graphics, while the underlying vehicle paint is protected. Vehicle wraps offer potential advantages in military use among which are: enabling color-rich, digitally optimized camouflage patterns without the need for paint; the circumvention of a paint operation for refreshing or changing vehicle appearance; a deployable and field-installable coating system that is 0-VOC and free of hazardous air pollutants; protection and life extension of underlying CARC paint; and rapid, cost-effective repair or replacement. However, wrap technology does not address several important military requirements such as non-slip properties, specific camouflage color and gloss characteristics, and near infrared reflectance spectral requirements. This Phase I effort will, through testing and evaluation, quantify the shortcomings of current wrap material and manufacturing technology per military requirements and define innovative approaches for the engineering and production of militarily useful wrap materials for vehicle applications.
Keywords: Vehicle Wraps, Digital Camouflage, Carc, Near Infrared (Nir), Reflectance, Gloss, Vinyl Film, Inkjet Printing.
