Date: Mar 03, 2003 Source: bizjournals (
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A system designed by an Albuquerque company to monitor flight control systems and replace traditional "black-box" flight-data recording devices could revolutionize the way people and machines interact.
Designed and built with a $1.5 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. Navy, Management Sciences Inc.'s Digital Data Download, or D3, system uses a network of sensors to constantly monitor all of an airplane's systems.
But the D3 that the Navy will begin installing in its F-18 strike fighters next year goes far beyond just recording an airplane's final events, says Management Sciences Vice President Ken Blemel. Instead, the $30,000 device which is encased in a seven-pound titanium box allows users to actually interact with the machine.
"We submitted an SBIR topic a year ago to respond to a topic the Navy had they wanted to be able to transmit information from an aircraft before it landed," he says. "We responded saying, 'We can do that, but why not ask it questions too?'"
Employing the company's sensor systems, which it calls "smart wiring," the D3's ability to aggregate information from in-flight video to wear and tear on internal parts will help the Navy monitor maintenance and the longevity of its equipment, root out the causes of disaster, detect abuse of expensive machinery, and more effectively train pilots, Blemel says. And its ability to handle not only downlink, but uplink communications, will allow users on the ground to "ask" it about certain aircraft functions.
Though the D3 is actually bright orange, Blemel says "it meets a standing mandate for what everyone calls the black box," or some sort of central data collection and recording system.
Military aircraft typically have monitoring equipment, but no crash-survivable box in which to record the last minutes of flight, Blemel says. But recent military mandates will dictate that some form of recording or last minute broadcast of flight data be made available for airplanes.
"Most military aircraft don't have them; the extra weight is like carrying a millstone around. But the mandate says you have to have one."
The little box can withstand a drop from 6,000 feet and six hours immersed in burning jet fuel. By gathering and transmitting information previously stored by different, separate systems, the D3 saves that weight and space, but "it still satisfies their need for a crash-survivable data recorder," he says. "But its real purpose is to be a day-to-day backseat driver."
The system allows ground crew to constantly monitor the condition and performance of the airplane to aid in decision making. Blemel says the D3 may eventually be installed in the military's growing fleet of pilotless drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Such interaction dovetails with emerging military strategies referred to as "network-centric" warfare, which stress the importance of accurate and immediate communication between different components of a particular battle.
"That's an enormous need that has just shown up," he says.
Future users could include members of the trucking and railroad industries, as well commercial airlines needing to meet increasing requirements for data monitoring systems in all airplanes in the wake of the crash last year that killed Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, Blemel says. Such a device could also be used by manufacturers to ascertain treatment of an airplane or other vehicle to determine whether or not a warranty still applies.
Blemel says the company expects the Navy to begin installing the first round of D3 systems in 2004. He estimates the first orders to be in the thousands. Manage-ment Sciences, which employs 17 people, has contracted with aerospace manufacturer Honeywell to handle manufacturing duties for the D3, Blemel says, an arrangement that could eventually lead to the "off-the-shelf" commercial availability of the system.
"If you bring a $20 million per year purchase order to New Mexico, you'd better have someone who can make the product," Blemel says. "We'll make the software and wiring here, Honeywell will make the case and handle the marketing, and the Navy will give us a hole to put it in."
That could translate into jobs if Honeywell decides to manufacture the device in Albuquerque, he says. A Honeywell representative could not be reached as of press time.
Management Sciences, which was founded in 1976 and continues to develop quality assurance, equipment maintenance and life-cycle software, took in more than $2 million in revenues last year.
Blemel is no stranger to SBIR grants � the company is currently juggling a handful of similar grants to develop wiring systems and monitoring equipment for military departments.
In the later stages of such grant programs, small companies are encouraged to partner with larger organizations, like Honeywell, to help manufacture and commercialize products.
"It's a wonderful way to dream and follow through," Blemel says of such grants.
