Before going to the Pavillion, I decided to try and familiarize myself with the Navy's SBIR program. I first began by reading through the Powerpoints sent to me earlier by Prof Dougherty. The slide listing the different platforms the Navy needed technology for caught my eye. It occurred to me that the flexbot could be further adapted if necessary to perform non reconnaissance missions. Being able to safely navigate a boat or submarine just as easily as a human, it could also then possibly be used for special warfare or weapons systems.
Next I went through the SBIR website to get a more detailed understanding of how the program works and how proposals needed to be submitted. To get an idea of the kinds of innovations SBIR has chosen in the past i reviewed some of their success stories. As I was flipping through the pages of the 2007 edition I came across Bluefin Electronics Corporation. This company developed pressure tolerant batteries for autonomous undersea applications. Though the flexbot's main purpose is not to be entirely submerged all the time this technology might serve as a welcome addition to the robot. The technology minimizes leakage problems found in other battery types, and can function in a variety of temperatures and pressures. The battery packs are rechargeable and claim to have longer life than comparable alternatives.
I will spend the remaining few minutes looking over the format for the proposal.
Hours 10:15
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