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    Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

    Courtesy Photo | Comparison of protection levels provided by two different garments. Garment (1) front...... read more read more

    FORT BELVOIR, VA, UNITED STATES

    11.16.2018

    Courtesy Story

    Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Chemical and Biological Technologies Department

    Innovation, infrastructure, animatronics, international collaboration — what do these things have in common? They’re revolutionizing U.S. and allied warfighter protection through a partnership between the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Chemical and Biological Technologies Department and the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence (MOD). They’re accomplishing this revolution through a novel system of testing protective garments.

    “Porton Man” is an animatronic robot designed by, and named for, the MOD’s Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) at Porton Down. In the past, Dstl has used the Porton Man to test personal protective garment systems designed to shield warfighters from exposure in a chemically or biologically contaminated environment.

    The Porton Man 2 provides the first fully-accredited full system capability test fixture for testing personal protective equipment. Made of the same carbon fiber materials used to make Formula One race cars, it includes stepper motors to control body and limb motion, giving it the ability to mimic warfighter movement. It can sit, stand, walk, run, raise its arms, sight a weapon and rotate left or right. The improved head is also capable of realistic motions.

    The robot evolved as the U.K. MOD identified a need for real time chemical agent sensors. These DTRA CB chemical sensors were developed for different purposes and scenarios, but were previously unavailable in the U.K. as they were subject to export restrictions. Salvatore Clementi, a science and technology manager with DTRA CB, leveraged previously developed sensors and successfully expedited export control licensing agreements to allow U.K. partners to acquire these real time sensors for use on the robot.

    Porton Man 2 holds an excess of 200 single use dosimeters. These dosimeters provide an indication of how much of an exposure to chemical weapons has occurred during the test. The six real time sensors provide an accurate representation of the concentration of agent vapor under the garment and report every 30 seconds. The robot’s system operates in a chamber that is designed to utilize actual chemical warfare agents (CWAs).

    As a result of this international collaborative effort, the U.S. DoD now has access to the U.K. MOD test infrastructure as an addition to their own infrastructure. In other words, this provides a novel system to test whole body exposure enabling the rapid assessment of developing protective ensemble technologies in realistic conditions.

    The unique information provided by the Porton Man 2 capability is not available through other test methods. During the test process, a programmable and repeatable motion routine is performed in the presence of CWA exposure. Currently, only a vapor CWA test has been accredited; accrediting a liquid version is planned in fiscal year 2019.
    Chemical protective garment systems are becoming increasingly complex. Innovations in multifunctional materials, such as state-of-the-art waterproof, breathable membranes and reactive fabrics capable of catalytically neutralizing agents on contact can provide protection against exposure. Simultaneously, advances in garment design and engineering, cooling systems and biometrics increase capabilities and protective systems.

    The U.S. DoD has an ongoing requirement to quantitatively assess these developing personal protective ensemble technologies. The existing test process called the Man-In- Simulant Test (MIST) uses human test volunteers wearing protective garments in a chamber while exposed to methyl salicilate (MeS) vapor. MeS is a harmless chemical that simulates, but still differs from, the properties of a chemical warfare agent. Porton Man testing complements MIST by providing data from a real agent challenge to a whole garment.

    Porton Man 2 adds consistency by reducing the experimental variability introduced through the use of humans test subjects in MIST. For example, the garment fit and motion routines were never truly identical, which often led to scattered results and larger sample sizes to determine true protection levels and identification of design flaws. In contrast, Porton Man 2 excels in consistency, allowing smaller, valid sample sizes and the repeatability of test results. This new and unique capability may result in a significant reduction in knowledge gaps when testing protective garments.

    The Porton Man 2 data can also be clearly and visually displayed. Test results are presented as a “heat map” showing the various exposure levels at different body regions. The differences in protection levels are easily seen and potential hot spots are easily identified.

    Designed to combat the continued threat of chemical and biological warfare and produce clear, visually discernable data, the Porton Man 2 full system capability test fixture is now available for U.S. DoD and U.K. MOD testing of protective garments and equipment in a live-agent environment. Dstl’s new, unique robot represents a significant advancement over the original as it combines a greater range of animatronic motion with flexible, real time CWA sensing.

    This combination of advancements more closely matches a warfighter’s actions in a contaminated environment and supports operationally-relevant testing. The novel and essential data from continued testing will support the development of future protective systems designed with enhanced capabilities and reliability for the warfighter.

    DTRA CB POC: Charles A. Bass, Ph.D.; charles.a.bass10.civ@mail.mil

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 11.16.2018
    Date Posted: 11.16.2018 14:05
    Story ID: 300283
    Location: FORT BELVOIR, VA, US

    Web Views: 199
    Downloads: 0

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