Minnesota Wire's R&D Division Completes Air Force Project
Minnesota Wire's research and development (R&D) division, Minnovate, this week sent its final report to the U.S. Air Force Research Lab for its project titled "Structurally Embedded Power and Signal Cabling for Air Vehicles." The objective of the twelve month Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase One project was to develop and demonstrate concepts to enable the embedding of electric power and signal conductors and interconnects in air vehicle structures. The Air Force hopes to eventually provide its fleet of manned and unmanned aircraft with embedded conductive systems that allow for manufacturing and operational cost savings, weight reduction, conformal designs for interior space and the resulting potential for increased payload.
During the course of the SBIR's Phase One, Minnesota Wire's deliverables included proposals for enhanced airframe design to better integrate traditional wiring, as well as integration of wholly new conductive materials (such as carbon nanotubes). The program's development team, led by Minnesota Wire, included experts from various fields locally; and at Arizona State University, the University of Delaware and Boeing. As a result of initial successes during the past year, Minnovate has been invited to apply for Phase Two funding for this critical Department of Defense initiative.
Minnesota Wire has won nearly $6 million in federal R&D grants from the DoD since 2003, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the military services and Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs); and in 2007, Minnovate won the coveted national Tibbetts Award for R&D excellence. The resultant commercialized technology for several non-defense market sectors includes two utility patents (pending) and several patents with partner companies. The R&D effort is unusual for an industry in which the basic technology has remained substantially unchanged for decades.
