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Smart Snap Hook

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Army
Contract: W911QY-06-C-0006
Agency Tracking Number: A052-193-0390
Amount: $119,969.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: A05-193
Solicitation Number: 2005.2
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2005
Award Year: 2005
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2005-11-14
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2006-05-12
Small Business Information
P.O. Box 71
Hanover, NH 03755
United States
DUNS: 072021041
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 John Wilson
 Engineer
 (603) 643-3800
 jmw@creare.com
Business Contact
 Gordon Willett
Title: Business Administration Manager
Phone: (603) 643-3800
Email: contractsmgr@creare.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

U.S. Army mass tactical airborne operations occasionally experience the accidental towing of a parachutist due to improper parachute deployment and/or entanglement with the static line. This event sometimes goes undetected for long periods of time after the affected jumper has left the aircraft. This can result in serious or fatal injury of the towed parachutist or subsequent jumpers who make contact with the towed jumper. We propose development of a Smart Snap Hook that actively monitors the load on each individual static line, providing an immediate alarm to the Jumpmaster and Safety in the event of a towed parachutist condition. Our rugged, reliable, and low cost Smart Snap Hook module will attach to existing snap hooks without compromising their current load-carrying capacity, will require no external infrastructure, and need only minimal annual maintenance. Microprocessor-based digital signal processing in the Smart Snap Hook will allow a towed jumper alarm to be provided within seconds of a jumper failing to separate from the aircraft normally, while completely avoiding false alarms. This will enable the rest of the jumpers on the stick to be halted, and towed parachutist retrieval to take place immediately, dramatically reducing the risk of serious or fatal injury.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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