SBIR-Enabled Technology Holds Nothing Back From Aircrew Safety Published Dec. 11, 2009 By Mr. John A. Plaga 711th Human Performance Wing WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Aircrew restraint technology originally developed--and soon to be delivered to the Navy in enhanced form--through Air Force Research Laboratory Small Business Innovation Research funding will reduce personnel injuries and save lives. Based in part on the lab's Universal Mobile Aircrew Restraint System effort, the recently awarded $11 million contract with Wolf Technical Services covers the development, testing, and production of the Common Mobile Aircrew Restraint System for the Navy's H-53 helicopter. Much of the technology used for CMARS emerged as a result of SBIR Phase II work on another AFRL product--namely, UMARS, a passive-restraint system that attenuates the energy transmitted to a nonseated crewmember during a hard landing or crash event. CMARS leverages this same passive technology and, in addition, employs an active system for monitoring aircraft motion and changing system response accordingly. This advanced, more comprehensive system is thus able to provide variable restraint based on the severity of maneuvers or crashes, while still enabling crewmembers to perform their duties. Intended as a replacement for both the Mobile Aircrew Restraint System and the standard tether currently used by the Navy, CMARS is anticipated as a significant improvement over these and similarly directed safety measures, some of which simply lock crewmembers in place and, in some instances, contribute to injuries.