LAWRENCE, Massachusetts, (June 26, 2006) – kSARIA Corporation has won a US Navy Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II contract sponsored by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to help accelerate the Navy’s migration to fiber optic technology in mission-critical aeronautical applications. The contract, valued at $850,000 with options, calls for kSARIA to develop an automated field service tool designed to deliver dramatic improvements in speed and effectiveness when cleaning multi-channel fiber optic connectors used in harsh military environments..
“The field maintainability of fiber optic connectors is one of the remaining challenges impeding the widespread implementation of fiber optics in fail-safe Navy applications,” said Michael Hackert, NAVAIR Fiber Optics Specialist and SBIR evaluation team member. “This SBIR program is designed to address this challenge by developing a field service tool for quickly and thoroughly cleaning fiber optic connectors on the flight line to ensure their integrity and reduce aircraft downtime. We selected kSARIA based on the breadth of its engineering experience and the compelling results of its initial concept for this tool during the Phase I effort.”
Conventional method of cleaning fiber optic connectors proves inadequate
Onboard aircraft carriers, a variety of ever-present substances including chemicals, jet fuel, salt spray, antifreeze and other adhered particulates can contaminate today’s military-grade, multi-channel fiber optic connectors when they are disconnected for servicing. Failure to remove these substances causes significant signal loss which renders the connectors virtually inoperable. If left in place, such debris can also scratch the polished end-faces of the optic fibers when they are mated together – resulting in permanent damage that requires field technicians to repair or replace each connector.
“The current method of removing this debris calls for manually inserting an alcohol-soaked, lint-free swab into the blind cavities of a multi-channel connector,” said Tony Christopher, Vice President of Engineering at kSARIA. “Because field technicians can’t see inside these cavities, this cleaning process is highly ineffective. And because they must repeat the swabbing process several times to dislodge the contaminates, always using a new swab at a cost of up to $2 each, the process is time-consuming and costly. In addition, the large number of swabs deployed on the flight deck raises the threat of foreign object damage (FOD) to the aircraft.”
Faster, better, easier: kSARIA’s proposed automated cleaning tool
During the Phase II effort, kSARIA plans to develop the prototype for an automated, easy-to-use, hand-held device that will dramatically improve speed, efficiency and effectiveness when cleaning multi-channel fiber optic connectors. Designed to remove a wide variety of contaminates, the automated cleaning device will be compatible across the range of connector types common in a military aerospace platform. Unlike the manually intensive “swab” approach, the new device will eliminate the threat of FOD and require far less training for technicians. Early prototypes of this device are expected for demonstration later in 2006, with future versions planned for 2007.
“kSARIA is proud to have been chosen to develop an automated solution that will improve the efficiency of fiber optic technology deployed on US Navy platforms,” said Sebastian J. Sicari, President and CEO of kSARIA. “Ensuring the integrity of fiber optic connectors is crucial – and we believe our automated cleaning device will help the Navy meet that challenge. While the military and aerospace industries are the initial markets for this device, we also believe that it will find future application in the oil and gas, telecom, mining and other industries that are increasingly relying on fiber optic technology.”
About kSARIA
kSARIA Corporation (www.ksaria.com) is the industry leader in manufacturing ultrahigh quality fiber optic cables for mission-critical military, aeronautical and harsh environment applications. In collaboration with the US Department of Defense, kSARIA leads the state-of-the-art in fiber optic cable production with the world’s only fully automated manufacturing processes and equipment. This unique, end-to-end, automated approach to manufacturing enables kSARIA to produce higher quality fiber optic cables that deliver superior performance and value to customers in shorter lead times. Today kSARIA is continuing to develop advanced manufacturing technologies to set even higher standards of excellence in fiber optic cable solutions.