SBIR-STTR Award

The aim of this program will be to pivot RISE Cylinder to military use. This technology is currently being deployed in class-8 truck trailers. It replaces classic hydraulic systems and their associated drawbacks, which include high system complexity, harmful chemicals leaks, limited hose lifetimes, limited positional accuracy, and high system weight. Moreover, RISE innovation is power-source agnostic. It will drastically reduce sustainment costs while increasing uptime within mission-critical machinery. It extends operating endurance regardless of the platform used -and support the Air Force's readiness to fly, fight and win.

AFLCMC/WISM has a national defense-related mission need in the area of A/MC-130J Common Lifting Device. Specifically, SOF aircraft often require unique technologies in order to successfully perform their flight operations in challenging environments. Technology being sought is a lightweight, compact, deployable external lifting device to remove and install line replaceable units weighing approximately 500 lbs. from the nose of a SOF C-130J , approximately 20 ft. in the air. Current methods are too bulky in size and weight to transport to forward operating locations. Liftwave, Inc. proposes an adaptation of their RISE cylinder technology to enable an ultra compact maintenance free Common Lifting Device that shall meet AFLCMC/WISM SOF needs. Ultracompact Liftwave, Inc. technology replaces cables on large pulleys with belts on small pulleys, enabling the reduction in size of common lifting devices such as the one required for SOF aircraft transporting the common lifting device to forward locations in austere environments. Also, unlike cables, belts require no greasing maintenance. Also, through Phase 1 customer discovery activities we determined that we can modify COTS components to make an ultra-compact structure which is quick to setup from stowed to operating. ---------- The Air Force has a national defense-related need in the area of redesigning/modernizing one of the Materiel Handling Units used for loading munitions, i.e. the MHU-83. Specifically, end-users within weapons and munitions units across Air Force bases have identified many issues with the hydraulics, mechanical line breaks, fluid leaks, and part obsolescence, among others. Currently, the MHU-83 platform is primarily driven by hydrostatic and hydraulic pumps which are driven by a JP-8 diesel internal combustion engine, resulting in high maintenance attrition rates throughout the unit that pose problems for the users. The main challenge for these pieces of equipment is â??uncommanded motionâ?, which results from the nature of hydraulics. RISEâ??s breakthrough has developed a completely new electromechanical alternative to hydraulic cylinders (the RISE cylinder) for heavy equipment and machinery, which will address the issues with legacy designs. RISE technologies can enhance Bomb Loaders by replacing the complex hydraulic subsystems with RISE Cylinderâ?¢, eliminating hydraulic drift which is the root-cause of uncommanded motion which operates entirely off electricity, enabling simplified machine maintenance and diagnostic procedures assuring a long service life. Unlike hydraulics, RISE Cylinder can manipulate heavy loads with tight and smooth control, assuring a safe and satisfying operation to end users. This will also result in faster loading times, probably twice as fast, and therefore more effective aircraft generation. RISE Cylinders also consume significantly less energy than hydraulic systems - enabling longer runtimes for both or either internal combustion engines or battery banks.