Last week, we told you about college students demonstrating the grappling hooks they designed at the request of the US Air Force. The design was inspired by hooks used in the Batman films. Now we learn that Army soldiers were inspired by another film to design a backpack-like ammunition-feeding system.
After an intense firefight last year in Afghanistan, Iowa National Guard members discussed how soldiers struggled to carry ammunition in difficult terrain. They joked that it would be handy if soldiers could carry an ammunition box on their backs, like Jesse Ventura did in the film Predator. And so, an idea was hatched by an army staff sergeant, Vincent Winkowski.
Iowa National Guardsmen serving in Afghanistan came up with the idea for the Ironman ammo-carriage system from the film Predator. (Source: US Army)
The weapon that inspired him to build the ammunition carrier was the MK 48 7.62-mm machine gun. "The ammunition sacks that came with it made it too cumbersome and heavy to carry over long, dismounted patrols and especially when climbing mountains," Winkowski said in an article published on the Army Website.
Winkowski designed a new carrier by taking an old frame from a so-called ALICE (all-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment) pack, welding two ammunition cans together, and strapping them to the frame. He also added a modular, lightweight pouch, or MOLLIE (modular, lightweight load-carrying equipment) pack, to the carrier, so soldiers could put other equipment in it. To deliver ammunition through the pack to the weapons, Winkowski took a piece of wood and fashioned a way to connect it to the feed chute assembly from an Army vehicle Common Remote Operating Weapons Station, or CROWS.
After members of the division tested the ammunition carrier in the field, the Army's Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) saw photos of the prototype and took over the project. It made some modifications to make the carrier more mass production-friendly, switching out the original ALICE frame for a MOLLIE frame and replacing the inside of the ammunition compartment with polycarbonate plastic. The new design still employs the 27-inch feed chute designed for the CROWS, though the Army says researchers are working to design one that costs less than the $1,710 chute.
The new prototype -- called the High-Capacity Ammunition Carriage System but dubbed "Ironman," after the nickname of the Iowa National Guard whose members created it -- was completed 48 days after researchers saw the original design.
Dave Roy, a current operations analyst at the NSRDEC military deputy's office, said in the article that Army researchers hope to get the carrier into the formal product acquisition process this year to get the new capability into the hands of as many soldiers as possible. "If that material solution fills a gap, you don't just want to have one of them, or you don't want to just have the designs on a cocktail napkin," he said. "You want to have something to fill that capability gap very quickly."
While not an example of crowdsouring per say, this shows the power of letting everyday users put their heads together to take a product to the next level. Tapping into the collective wisdom of real people actually using real products can deliver insights into what works and what doesn't that just isn't possible by non-users even if they are engineers.
Beth, it is amazing what you can do when you are close to the problem. It is also amazing that the Army picked up on it so quickly. I just hope they can keep the acquisition process on a fast track.
I agree, Naperlou, the really amazing aspect of this is not so much that the users came up with it, but that someone above them was able to see the wisdom in it.
I was impressed by the speed as well. Sometimes, when you're closer to the problem, an entrepreneurial approach takes over.
The fact that one of their own designed this is great. I'm sure the need and the idea were there before but the creativity and technology may not have been avalable through the bureaucracy.
I hope SSG Winkowski and his cohorts get into Engineering in some fashion. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but it takes smart people to bring it to fruition. Good job to all involved!
This seems like a great idea - I find it hard to believe that know one thought of this before. More likely, numerous people had considered similar concepts but all the "planets" finally lined up just right for it to move forward.
On a side note: Being from Minnesota - it pains me to know that Jesse Ventura had any part of this.
Army basic training stress following order. They tell you exactly when to wake, eat, sleep. You have no autonomy. That is necessary for soldiers to keep marching in face of danger. If you are told to carry this ammo box 20 miles you do it. You don't ask isn't there a better way.
Film and art industry stress creativity above all else. Problem solving requires creativity. Interesting film industry came up with the idea first. Interesting parallel is the quality of workforce between US and China. Oversea workforce are rigid and follow order. Understandable in a totalitarian regime. We stress creativity and innovation. Out students are allowed to question the teacher.
As technology advance, and we are facing a constantly changing enemy, Army may have to change their approach from a rigid top down to more lean manufacturing like. Each soldier have to come up with innovative ways to solve problems on their own.
Good example is Katrina. Coast Guard was the one branch that did well in the disaster. They were taught to make decision on their own instead of depend on a rigid command structure.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
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