ATSP Innovations, Inc. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: HR001119S0035-19
ATSP Innovations, Inc. — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Defense.
Phase I SBIR feasibility signal
- Phase I awards fund proof-of-concept work. For capture teams, they mark early interest from Department of Defense in a technical approach.
- Watch for Phase II follow-ons from the same firm/topic family — that conversion path is where budgets and transition pressure rise.
- Obligated amount $224,777. Cross-check similar awards in the same agency and technology tags for going-rate context.
- Topic code HR001119S0035-19 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $224,777
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Topic
- HR001119S0035-19
- Solicitation
- DARPA HR001119S0035-19
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- IL
- Period
- 2020-02-05 → 2021-01-04
Description
Dielectric Elastomers (DE) are an attractive actuator material due to large actuation strains, the ability to be formed into a variety of actuator configurations, millisecond-scale response times, and high actuation forces. Currently, actuation voltages are unattractively high due to high thickness in the DE layer – moderate actuation voltages can be achieved with reduction in the tube wall thickness below 75 microns. ATSP Innovations and team partner the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer a unique method to ultrathin fabricate DE fibers based on the electrospinning method. Electrospinning has been successfully used to produce fibers with diameters from nanoscale to microscale; in addition, electrospinning methods can produce multi-layer fibers via coaxial needles. Thus, a high efficiency fiber production method would be achieved by electrospinning for production of the three-layer DE fiber including the inner and outer conductive electrode. ATSP Innovations proposes during Phase I to develop an electrospinning method for producing uniform three-layer fibers, and carry out electromechanical characterizations with goal actuation voltages of 1% with a repeatability of >50 cycles, and thermal stability >60°C.