Semi-Active Damped Seating Technology for the EFV Navy SBIR FY2006.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2006.2 Topic No.: N06-103 Topic Title: Semi-Active Damped Seating Technology for the EFV Proposal No.: N062-103-0124 Firm: Active Shock, Inc. 3 Perimeter Rd. Manchester, New Hampshire 03103 Contact: John LaPlante Phone: (603) 627-8547 Web Site: www.activeshock.com Abstract: A shock mitigating seat will be developed for the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV). The seat will be designed to protect occupants from the high vibration and shock loads that are present inside the crew compartment. An additional benefit is that these systems will be capable of mitigating shock and vibration transmitted into the EFV during both land and sea operations. In Phase I, a conceptual design of all the major components for the suspension will be developed. The Phase I Option will be focused on generating a detailed layout of the suspension based on the component specifications and packaging constraints identified in Phase I. This will provide the basis for the detailed design and fabrication of a prototype system capable of withstanding extended proof of concept and feasibility testing in Phase II. Dynamic modeling will be used to predict system benefits and provide sensor and actuator requirements that will be used during the design process. The suspension design will attempt to fit into the same volumes as the current systems and seats and will allow full functionality with greatly improved shock and vibration mitigation. Benefits: An actively controlled seat suspension will transmit much lower peak G-forces and absorbed power to the occupant during high speed off-road driving than currently implemented systems. This will reduce occupant fatigue and injury and allow greater control and stability during operation of the vehicle. The initial commercialization plans for the product include a progression from lower volume military vehicles to higher volumes in heavy construction equipment and long haul trucking, both for the roadwheel suspensions and for seat suspensions. The seating application will also extend into military and consumer boat seats as well as wheel chairs. In successive applications, successful developments to address each market will be rolled into previous designs and, as far as possible, improve performance or lower cost. In all the applications, the basic benefits of lower peak Gs and absorbed power transmitted to the occupant or payload without sacrificing vehicle control will be retained. Return