SAFE INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: A17-091

Description

Discomfort and fatigue from sitting within ground combat vehicles reduces mission effectiveness and endurance in the short term, while sustained vibration exposure can cause long-term health problems that diminish combat readiness, burden the health care system, and degrade the quality of life for our soldiers.A better cushion must evenly distribute pressure across the buttocks, have damping to lower transmissivity, avoid resonance within the frequency band where humans are most susceptible, and avoid degrading the spinal protection provided by seats in mine blast shock conditions.Safe has proposed a cushion design that addresses all of these needs by combining existing materials in a unique way to generate the necessary pressure, stiffness, and damping properties.Safe has described a test program that demonstrates feasibility within the Phase I Base effort using its in-house drop test capability.Safes project team includes engineers with prior experience developing and testing mine blast seat cushions and aviation seats that reduce vibration effects on people.Safes commercialization plan describes potential avenues for selling the cushion and addresses capacity for high-rate production through teaming with a strategic partner that is an established cushion manufacturer.