AIMS™ – Body Armour Smart Sensor for the Tactical Environment
By: Bede O’Neill
Business Development Consultant, Defence
16th August 2017
Throughout the ages, from earliest forms of protective shields, such as leather panels, chain mail to full armoured suits – body armour has always played a crucial role in protecting the lives of combatants. Modern day armed forces personnel wear configurations that can typically include ceramic body armour plates. Ceramic plates are highly effective at minimising the effects of projectiles presenting much greater stopping power than the soft armour variants typically found in lightweight ballistic vests. Whilst ceramic armour is hard and lightweight, its inherent design is to disperse the kinetic energy and, therefore, the penetration ability of the projectile by fracturing.
As a result, it is imperative that the ceramic body armour plate is regularly checked to verify the integrity of the ceramic structure and without specialist x-ray analysis it can be very difficult to spot this damage. The consequence of x-ray analysis as an integral element of maintenance support is a prolonged inspection cycle.
To address this issue, Plextek have developed a sensor system that removes the need for regular x-ray analysis. The Armour Integrity Monitoring System (AIMS™) uses a small low power inertial sensor to detect impact events sustained by the plate. The wearer of the armour can then use a smartphone with near-field communication (NFC) to interrogate the AIMS sensor to check for plate damage following an impact event.
With an estimated five year operating life, the AIMS sensor is truly a ‘fit and forget’ device that can be retrofitted to existing ceramic body armour stocks. Whilst each plate requires only one AIMS monitoring sensor, a single smartphone can be used to check the condition of an entire deployed fleet of plates.
What AIMS delivers to the user is a first line confidence test to verify that their ballistic protection is fit for use. Previously only confirmed by x-ray analysis, AIMS provides an immediate status update ensuring that personnel have the protection that they deserve.
The introduction of AIMS to an existing fleet significantly drives down the equipment whole life costs by removing the logistic and unit costs incurred when dispatching body armour back to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for specialist x-ray analysis. As an active monitoring sensor, AIMS continues to provide an updated status of the body armour even if it has been in storage for a significant period since the last x-ray.
A truly smart sensor for the tactical environment, AIMS can be reconfigured to record multiple impact events. This information, presented on the smart phone app, can be used by medical professionals to help understand the trauma that the user has experienced. This valuable data could be used to help triage patients and diagnose the possibility and likely severity of internal injuries.
Throughout the ages, from earliest forms of protective shields, such as leather panels, chain mail to full armoured suits – body armour has always played a crucial role in protecting the lives of combatants. Modern day armed forces personnel wear configurations that can typically include ceramic body armour plates. Ceramic plates are highly effective at minimising the effects of projectiles presenting much greater stopping power than the soft armour variants typically found in lightweight ballistic vests. Whilst ceramic armour is hard and lightweight, its inherent design is to disperse the kinetic energy and, therefore, the penetration ability of the projectile by fracturing.
As a result, it is imperative that the ceramic body armour plate is regularly checked to verify the integrity of the ceramic structure and without specialist x-ray analysis it can be very difficult to spot this damage. The consequence of x-ray analysis as an integral element of maintenance support is a prolonged inspection cycle.
To address this issue, Plextek have developed a sensor system that removes the need for regular x-ray analysis. The Armour Integrity Monitoring System (AIMS™) uses a small low power inertial sensor to detect impact events sustained by the plate. The wearer of the armour can then use a smartphone with near-field communication (NFC) to interrogate the AIMS sensor to check for plate damage following an impact event.
With an estimated five year operating life, the AIMS sensor is truly a ‘fit and forget’ device that can be retrofitted to existing ceramic body armour stocks. Whilst each plate requires only one AIMS monitoring sensor, a single smartphone can be used to check the condition of an entire deployed fleet of plates.
What AIMS delivers to the user is a first line confidence test to verify that their ballistic protection is fit for use. Previously only confirmed by x-ray analysis, AIMS provides an immediate status update ensuring that personnel have the protection that they deserve.
The introduction of AIMS to an existing fleet significantly drives down the equipment whole life costs by removing the logistic and unit costs incurred when dispatching body armour back to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for specialist x-ray analysis. As an active monitoring sensor, AIMS continues to provide an updated status of the body armour even if it has been in storage for a significant period since the last x-ray.
A truly smart sensor for the tactical environment, AIMS can be reconfigured to record multiple impact events. This information, presented on the smart phone app, can be used by medical professionals to help understand the trauma that the user has experienced. This valuable data could be used to help triage patients and diagnose the possibility and likely severity of internal injuries.
