The US Army recently awarded MicroStrain, Inc. a Phase II SBIR contract to continue to develop a comprehensive and wirelessly networked health management capability that can be embedded directly into rotorcraft components. Providing the technology to manage the health of rotating helicopter structural components is expected to significantly reduce operational costs, increase mission readiness, and enhance safety.
MicroStrain’s Phase II SBIR effort includes a demonstration of embedded energy harvesting radio frequency identification (EH-RFID) nodes with capabilities of unique identification, performance monitoring, on board storage of component usage history, and remaining useful life.