Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: A13-015

Description

To address the Army need for developing a flexible, conformal, skin-attachable electronic platform for a wearable Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) sensing system, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop an innovative Skin of Flexible Intelligence (SOFI) by readily adapting an existing surface-mount technology that is compatible with the Armys TBI sensor. The SOFI design uses unique geodesic folding structures to house and electrically connect all components while providing flexibility that can be easily placed on fingers or other parts of the body. The overall system will be no larger than a standard Band-Aid, will be low SWaP, and will provide the Armys required digital interfaces. In Phase I, POC demonstrated the feasibility of SOFI by designing the low-power electronic data collection, storage, and transmission system, and by selecting suitable materials and small-footprint components. We fabricated multiple prototypes for both mechanical and electrical testing and also designed a suitable electronic circuit capable of recording, storing, and transmitting the sensed data at least five times within a one month period while continuously monitoring on a single battery charge. In Phase II, POC will build and test multiple (more than 12) refined prototypes interfaced with the Armys TBI sensor.