Tech Transfer Pulls-and Pushes-Its Weight in Lab/Industry Partnering Published Oct. 19, 2010 By Mr. John Schutte, 711 HPW/XPO, DSN 785-3796 711th Human Performance Wing WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Given that the Air Force recognizes industry partnerships as key to bridging capability gaps and mitigating risk, Air Force Research Laboratory strives to exploit technology transfer to enhance such collaboration, an approach that brings dollars, resources, and time savings to AF research programs and ultimately speeds product delivery to the warfighter. Whether used to "spin in" technology from the private sector or "spin out" the results of AFRL research to business, tech transfer opportunities are virtually endless, due primarily to the availability of various legal vehicles and numerous federal laboratories at which research spans a wide range of scientific disciplines. Exemplifying the use of transfer mechanisms for acquiring needed technology is AFRL's effort to advance state-of-the-art warfighter readiness methods and techniques. Seeking a commercial partner that could bring complementary capabilities to the project, the lab teamed--under Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, which opens AF test facilities and equipment to commercial clients who may otherwise lack access to specialized equipment--with range instrumentation and architectural software developer Cubic Defense Applications. The successful pairing was subsequently able to "spin in" the commercial technology needed for developing the air-ground systems interface needed for realizing a real-time, real-world training capability known as live-virtual-constructive technology. The aim of the LVC system is to improve the quality and efficiency of training, not only for Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (AF troops operating within Army units to identify targets and coordinate close air support), but for fighter pilots and the Air Support Operations Center personnel who execute their respective battle plans. Highlighting technology "spin out" is AFRL's involvement in a National Fallen Firefighters Foundation effort to gather data regarding the size and shape of firefighters. The group's purpose in collecting this information was to aid the formulation of industry guidelines for improved fit and function of firefighting safety equipment, clothing, and vehicles. Accordingly, NFFF commercial partner Total Contact, Inc., made use of resources at AFRL's Computerized Anthropometric Research and Design laboratory--via an existing CRADA between the AF and a private contractor-- to obtain the desired statistics via lab-proffered technology assets. This particular study will eventually dovetail with a comprehensive, separately funded National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health project to collect anthropometric data from approximately 1,000 firefighters nationwide, with AFRL sharing NFFF outcomes with NIOSH and perhaps brokering a formal AF/NIOSH collaboration. These project examples represent just two of the many and varied ways in which the AF--via technology transfer--is addressing research and development demands for military and commercial applications alike. In the face of ever-tightening federal budgets and constantly compressed schedules, technology transfer instruments--along with a firm commitment to their implementation--translate to a viable means for meeting not only critical warfighter needs but those of the public as well.