NATICK, Mass. -- For members of the 82nd Airborne, the wait is about to get less weighty.
Dr. John Ramsay -- a biomechanics engineer at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, or NSRDEC -- along with Jonathan Kaplan, an NSRDEC biomechanical engineer, invented the Low-Cost Airborne Soldier Load Assistance Device. The inexpensive, reusable device helps alleviate the airborne Soldiers' weight burden caused by resting their equipment on their legs/knees prior to boarding a plane.
"It is specifically for the airborne Soldier," said Ramsay. "They can be waiting many hours, and their packs can weigh up to 120 pounds, depending on what their job may be. While they sit, their equipment sits right along their knee caps. They are too uncomfortable to rest. When it's time to stand up, oftentimes their feet are numb. Their legs and backs are hurting. Then they have to board the plane and are expected to perform their mission at full capacity."
Ramsay explained that the device is a Soldier-driven engineering solution to an atypical load-carriage issue.
"When I saw the problem," said Ramsay, "I thought 'Why not just make them something that lifts the weight off their legs'? So, we took the height of the bench they are sitting on and we took ANSUR II data of an average thigh circumference. We then invented a device that sits between their legs and lifts all the weight off their legs."
The invention not only took weight off the legs, but it also alleviated shoulder discomfort.
"One of the biggest wins is that we designed this for load carriage off the legs, but it also helps the shoulders," said Ramsay. "The weight is strapped to their harness, which is around their torso, and, as they are sitting, there is pulling on their shoulders. The device helped reduce the pressure of paratrooper shoulder straps in the harness. After they tried to the device, almost unanimously, they said 'Man, this feels great on my shoulders.'"
NSRDEC'S BOOTSTRAP INITIATIVE LED THE WAY
NSRDEC's Bootstrap Initiative helped make this innovation possible.
NSRDEC devised and implemented the Bootstrap Initiative, an exciting new way to spark innovation, creativity and risk-taking while streamlining processes and minimizing bureaucracy.
NSRDEC's Dr. Ken Desabrais, a research aerospace engineer, conceived the idea and led the Bootstrap Implementation Team.
"The Bootstrap initiative provides a forum for someone with a great idea, that they think could help the Soldier, to pursue it," said Desabrais. "Part of the intent and process for Bootstrap was envisioned to allow people to go after concepts and ideas that may be so early in the conceptual stages or outside their normal area of work that it would be difficult to secure resources using traditional methods. Bootstrap is a way to try something new and see if it will work before deciding the best way to move forward."
"The Bootstrap Initiative provided the funding and an avenue to get it done," said Ramsay. "Through the Bootstrap Initiative, we were able to prototype a couple of designs, test them and get some feedback from the Soldiers. The device is super inexpensive, and it is a solution that they can continue to carry out themselves."
"Innovative ideas are often inspired by a deep understanding of unmet and unarticulated customer needs," said Tom Merle, Chief Innovation Officer at NSRDEC. "Soldiers are our customers. In this case, Dr. Ramsay observed a condition that had never been self-reported through other means. He immersed himself in the Soldiers' environment, he identified a condition that, as an expert in biomechanics, he could assess was compromising the Soldiers' physical condition, and then he and his team moved to use their creative design and engineering skills to develop a simple and elegant solution that addressed the Soldiers' needs."
"We wouldn't have known this was an issue if we hadn't had experience with the 82nd Airborne, and we wouldn't have had a way to get funded if it wasn't for the Bootstrap Initiative," said Kaplan, co-inventor of the device, who is involved with the actual manufacturing. "It was super satisfying to go from idea to implementation in a little over two months."
"The Low-Cost Airborne Soldier Load Assistance Device defines the intent of the Bootstrap program perfectly," said Dr. Charlene Mello, chief scientist at NSRDEC. "It is a creative solution to an unarticulated need with tremendous benefit to the Airborne Soldier."
"This is an incredibly powerful example of Soldier-centric innovation that only happens when experienced and creative S&E's immerse themselves in the Soldiers' environment and open their eyes fully to the compromises and challenges Soldiers face every day," said Merle. "Through the Bootstrap program, John and his team made this innovative solution happen."
NSRDEC'S PARTNERING WITH THE 82ND AIRBORNE SHAPED THE INVENTION
In addition to NSRDEC's Bootstrap Initiative, the invention was also made possible by NSRDEC's partnering with the 82nd Airborne Division.
NSRDEC scientists and engineers are working closely with the 82nd Airborne Division to garner new insights into the cognitive, physical and emotional performance of Soldiers.
"The partnering has been a massive help in understanding what Soldiers actually do," said Kaplan. "I think there are so many possible opportunities for researchers and engineers to find out what the problems are and develop quick fixes."
"By partnering we were better able to envision what they needed," said Ramsay. "The goal was to make them more comfortable. Because if they experience less discomfort and pain, when it comes time for them to have to make a decision or perform a physical task, anecdotal evidence shows their morale is going to be higher and their energy level is going to be better. We aren't weakening our Soldier force, but are rather providing them a means to fully focus on their mission, without the added complexity that pain and discomfort might add."
NSRDEC's work with the 82nd is part of a larger science and technology effort called the S&T Project Integration Pilot, which is part of the Soldier and Squad Performance Optimization, or S2PO, initiative. Rick Haddad is NSRDEC's S2PO Program Integration lead.
"This is a perfect example of what we can do for the Soldier when we get our scientists and engineers out of the lab and into the Soldier's organic operating environment," said Haddad. "There is no publication or needs statement that can provide the level of fidelity or operational context you will see when observing the entire airborne timeline."
The device has been tweaked based on Soldier feedback from the 82nd.
"It took a scientist's perspective and a few discussions with paratroopers to allow us to make this low-cost device," said Command Sgt. Maj. David S. Jordan, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. "It is all about flattening our organization and forcing critical and creative thinking at all levels."
"I think Soldiers now realize that scientists do care about them as professionals and as human beings," said Ramsay. "We actively sought their opinion. It is important that this was vetted through members of the 82nd and improved by people who are going to use it. They could be called into combat at a moment's notice. It's good to know that what we are doing as a team is helping the people who protect us perform better and get fewer injuries."
"Their input helped make the device so much better," said Kaplan. "It's great to see tangible improvements. We need to listen to them."
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The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations to empower the Army, the joint warfighter and our nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
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