The Army has given $1.75 million to Adaptive Materials Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan to adapt its propane-powered fuel-cells for the iRobot PackBot, a development that will extend the robot's operating time from 2 hours with current batteries to "more than 10 hours," according to the Great Lakes IT Report:
"The delivery of truly portable power -- power that is lightweight and long-lasting -- is central to Adaptive Materials' work with the U.S. military," said the company's chief business officer, Michelle Crumm. "The lightweight power sources under development by Adaptive Materials can extend the flight time of UAVs and military robots, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of these devices. Adaptive Materials' portable power for communications devices can increase functionality and also reduce the weight load that soldiers need to carry to maintain contact with critical sources of information."The company received an additional $2.35 million to use its fuel cell technology for unmanned aerial vehicles, which is also expected to multiply flight times by a factor of five. (!)
The technology is also being developed for Army radios and other devices to shrink their size and expand their capabilities.
Adaptive Materials says on its web site that it aims to add 100 jobs in the coming years to accommodate growth (something Michigan surely needs; perhaps Detroit will notice?)
I imagine once they get the cost down there should be a million civilian uses as well. Might there be a propane-powered fuel-cell Prius? Or a cell phone that lasts 100 hours of talk time on a single charge? Or a laptop with a 30 hour battery? Although who really wants to carry around propane tanks to fuel their laptop? At any rate, click on the image to see the significant advantages in power density that fuel cells can provide over current battery options, from Adaptive Materials' brochure:
No comments:
Post a Comment