REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Jan. 9, 2015) -- An Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center employee has been selected as the 2014 Joint Capability Technology Demonstrator Award Engineer of the Year by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
JCTD awards are presented to those whose projects exploit mature and maturing technologies and operational concepts to address key strategic capability gaps facing the Army.
Sara Condon of Williamsburg, Virginia, was honored for her performance as the manager of the Autonomous Technologies for Unmanned Aerial Systems program. Condon holds a bachelor of science in computer and electrical engineering from West Virginia University. She has worked at AMRDEC's Fort Eustis, Virginia based Aviation Development Directorate for 14 years.
Condon was essential in providing and integrating the technologies supporting ATUAS, which served as the primary enabling technology behind the success of the KMAX autonomous helicopter in Afghanistan.
KMAX provided precision delivery of supplies through enhanced autonomous navigation and contingency management software. AMRDEC partnered with industry to add intelligent navigation, obstacle detection and avoidance in the delivery area, situational awareness video over high-bandwidth data links, autonomous retrograde, delivery location beacon capability and multi-vehicle controls to allow autonomous flight.
The K-Max has flown hundreds of missions in Afghanistan supporting the efforts of the U.S. Marine Corps by delivering more than three million pounds of supplies. ATUAS technologies allowed the K-Max to precisely deliver cargo. It can also choose its own delivery spot, provide hi-res video to the operator, and bring back empty containers -- all on its own.
The successful integration of the ATUAS technologies enabled the K Max program to be executed both ahead of schedule and under budget. The employment of ATUAS delivered capability in support of real-world operations is a testament to the diligence and the engineering rigor mandated by Condon.
"Sara and the entire ATUAS JCTD Team have truly done amazing work. Their efforts highlight the critically important role that our Science and Technology professionals perform in bringing advanced capabilities directly to the Warfighter," said Col. Steven Braddom, Aviation Applied Technology Directorate commander.
The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Emerging Capability& Prototyping) JCTD awards are presented annually to the JCTD project managers and teams that best embody the spirit of the JCTD Program that place meeting the needs of the warfighter first.
The Aviation Applied Technology Directorate at Fort Eustis, Va. is part of AMRDEC's Aviation Development Directorate. It is responsible for developing, demonstrating and transitioning critical technologies and products to modernize maintain and sustain Army aviation.
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The Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to develop technology and engineering solutions for America's Soldiers.
RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness -- technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection, and sustainment -- to the total force, across the spectrum of joint military operations. If a Soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, eats it or communicates with it, AMC provides it.
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