Refining the West Point cadet's proof-of-concept prototype to make a combat system has been the responsibility of Lt. Col. Scott Crino, a former West Point systems engineering instructor. Crino now works with the Asymmetric Warfare Group at Fort Mead...

WEST POINT, N.Y. (Oct. 7, 2010) -- A West Point Class of 2010 electrical engineering senior design team will see their invention tested by Soldiers in Afghanistan. Their device, named DemonEye, adds precision and speed to battlefield target location.

Refining the cadet's proof-of-concept prototype to make a combat system has been the responsibility of Lt. Col. Scott Crino, a former West Point systems engineering instructor.

Crino now works with the Asymmetric Warfare Group at Fort Meade, Md., with a mission to rapidly identify and close gaps in Army capabilities.

Cadets, now 2nd Lts. Derek Wales, George Hopkins and John Eischer completed the DemonEye prototype for Projects Day in April. Shortly afterward, Wales delivered it to AWG as a personal initiative, based on guidance from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science faculty members and his father.

On Oct. 1, only five months later, Crino returned the prototype along with a new, ruggedized operational version developed by Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory with AWG funding.

Field tests of the ruggedized device are now occurring at U.S. installations, with further testing scheduled in Afghanistan during the fall.

"We will use it and allow Soldiers to use it as well to assess whether it is worth replacing the existing system the Army uses," Crino said.

DemonEye won the West Point Scott R. Clark Innovation for Soldiers Award during the Projects Day competition. It combines a laser range finder, digital compass, global positioning system and computer control to calculate target locations quickly and accurately. It may also reduce the risk that human error leads to misdirected weapons fire.

AWG is seeking to extend this initial success beyond electrical engineering to additional West Point programs that future cadet projects can be put to work for the Army.

"We certainly learned a lot from this, and I think it was a win-win there," Crino said. "So we want to continue to leverage cadet ingenuity by establishing an enduring relationship with West Point."

Other Projects Day successes are being transferred to the Army. The academy's first space satellite, Black Knight 1, was recently approved by the Army Space Experiment Review Board and endorsed for submission to the Department of Defense SERB.

If approved at the DOD level, the "Black Knight 1" will be eligible for launch as part of the Army's effort to develop space technologies that enhance field unit operations.