One of the biggest concerns for the military focuses around size, weight and power constraints. It applies in the air, where aerial assets must be able to take off and fly properly without being weighed down by too many payloads. It’s also true on the ground for soldiers whose packs can weigh up to 100 pounds. Any effort to lighten their load is welcome.
The Army is working to lighten that load a bit with “energy harvesting”—using the motion of soldiers’ natural movements to power radios, GPS systems, night-vision goggles or they myriad other devices requiring batteries. The Energy Harvester Assault Pack could free up space in rucksacks for other critical materials such as food, water or ammunition. And in addition to taking away the weight of batteries, the EHAP could keep soldiers in the field powered-up, and not having to carry dead devices while waiting for new supplies to arrive.
Read the full article on defensesystems.com