Innovative minds: the Tectonica project team developing the ‘Power Management and Distribution System’. Left to right: Electronics Engineer, John Retelj; Project Manager, Brett Ross; Managing Director, Miles Partridge; and Mechanical Engineer, Anatoly Kaganov

Creating an innovative product that is useful to Defence can require developing a capability that can interact with legacy systems.

Tectonica Australia is doing just that under Defence’s Capability Technology Demonstrator (CTD) Program, which Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) administers.

The company has taken on the task of developing a Power Management and Distribution System that can integrate with existing load carriage and user equipment.

This equipment includes the wide range of electronic aids the modern combat soldier carries, from night vision goggles to personal radios.

Tectonica’s Project Manager heading up this power management CTD, Brett Ross said there are two parts to the capability his team is developing.

‘The first part is the power distribution itself- getting the electrical energy from the initial source and distributing it to the various parts of the load carriage equipment that need power,’ he said.

‘The second part, the management system, takes into account that certain elements of the kit might be more crucial or require more power and ensures these elements get the electrical energy they require.’

Mr Ross said Tectonica envisions three scenarios of how the management system might operate.

‘The most basic scenario is ‘manual engagement’, with the soldier turning on or off elements of their load carriage equipment as required,’ he said.

‘This is followed by ‘pre-programming’, which we aim to achieve through analysis of the equipments use and creating a number of plausible outcomes for distribution.

‘Lastly there is the option of ‘self learning’ where the system observes itself. For example, if the soldier wearing the load carriage equipment is frequently using the radio the system will make an assumption that this is a key capability and will secure its source of power,’ Mr Ross said.

The individual technologies that Tectonica is using to create its system are mature and readily available. But, Mr Ross said the implementation and integration with legacy equipment requires a high degree of innovation.

‘We are trying to create an open architecture so that as new technologies are introduced the Power Management System can interface with them,’ he said.

‘To the best of our knowledge we are the only company in Australia having a go at creating a power management system for this specific purpose, however other countries are in various development stages to create technologies like this.’

The Power Management System is being designed to operate with load carriage capabilities procured under Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) Project Land 125.

Land 125 is a soldier modernisation program that provides incremental enhancements to the close combat capability through the selective application of technology. The project team integrates everything a soldier wears, carries and consumes.

Under the project DMO acquires and integrates mature technologies, purchases new systems where gaps are identified, enhances existing systems- where it represents value for money, and promotes research and development that will progressively identify new technology that represents an enhancement to the close combat capability and value for money.

Tectonica signed on for the Load Carriage Equipment CTD in October 2006 and expects to have an outcome to present to DSTO by June 2008. The company aims to conduct demonstration trials of the capability by April 2008.