August 29, 2017
CINCINNATI –Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) was recognized for two different Technology Transfer (T2) awards during Tuesday’s Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Midwest and Southeast Regional Meeting.
NSWC Crane’s partnership with GoX Studio received the 2017 Midwest Regional Excellence in T2 award, and NSWC Crane’s partnership with Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) and NASA Glenn Research Center received the 2017 Midwest Region Interagency Partnership Award.
"It is an honor to have NSWC Crane’s T2 Program recognized as a leader by the FLC,” said NSWC Crane Commanding Officer Capt. Mark Oesterreich. “Our partnerships with a wide variety of organizations have allowed us to accelerate the development and transition of new and innovative technologies to support the warfighter.”
NSWC Crane’s partnership with GoX Studio began in 2015 after GoX Studio transferred an Army Research Lab (ARL) technology through a relationship with its Department of Defense (DoD) Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) partner, TechLink.
GoX Studio is a service-disabled, veteran-owned, small business focusing on developing wearable and robotic technologies that enhance the performance, quality of life, recreation, and health of the elderly, physically impaired, emergency professionals, and athletes of all types.
GoX Studio’s Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with NSWC Crane made sense because Crane holds a patent for a system to measure power generated during activities such as walking and running. GoX Studio’s founders, Dr. Joseph Hitt and Dr. Bruce Floersheim, described NSWC Crane’s patent as the “missing link” for their project.
NSWC Crane’s technology is currently being implemented into the Human Integrated Performance Optimization System (HIPO). The NSWC Crane technology was used in conjunction with a smartphone app designed by GoX Studio to record cadence, speed, heart rate, change of heart rate, mode, energy, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2) and efficiency. NSWC Crane’s Dr. Robert Templeman supported the production of the next generation of prototyping, including material and failure analyses, environmental analysis, and a manufacturability assessment. In April, NSWC Crane delivered a minimally viable product to GoX Studio.
“The combined efforts of ARL and NSWC Crane to transfer technology to GoX Studio will lead to significant improvements in the ability to monitor and observe the health and well-being of U.S. soldiers and military personnel in the field and during training,” said Brooke Pyne, NSWC Crane’s T2 Director.
In April, OAI – in conjunction with NASA Glenn Research Center and other regional partners – put on a program entitled “DoD NAVSEA Technology & Innovation Exchange” designed to introduce NSWC Crane to the northern Ohio aerospace community. The program provided an overview of NSWC Crane, taught participants how to do business with a federal lab, highlighted NSWC Crane’s current areas of expertise, and outlined small business and partnership opportunities available to interested parties.
As a result of that event, NSWC Crane has formed several new partnerships, including one with Case Western Reserve University, the top-ranked research university in Ohio.
NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi-spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability of today’s warfighter.