Principal Investigator Yoel Fink
Co-investigators John Joannopoulos , Marin Soljacic
Project Website http://isnweb.mit.edu/project-5.2.1.html
The integration and assembly of multifunctional fiber devices into fabrics enables the unobtrusive, low-profile, and light weight functionalization that can advance Soldier uniforms to perform sophisticated tasks. The objective of this project is twofold: The first is to develop multi-excitation sensing fabrics to enhance situational awareness in the battlefield both 'outward facing' towards the environment for threat localization and communication and 'inward facing' to provide real time measurements of the physiological state of the Soldier. Under this project, we will develop fabric systems that will provide simultaneous visual and acoustic mapping of the environment using photosensitive and piezoelectric assemblies of fiber transducers. The first objective is to enable identification and bi-directional communication capabilities using a recently developed fiber that is capable of actively modulating an impingent laser beam with any signal up to a frequency of a few megahertz. The second objective will be to utilize piezo and semiconductor fiber technologies to integrate sensors that will provide basic vital signs, wound localization and total energy balance for the Soldier. These two objectives when combined will lead to greater operational efficiencies and improve Soldier survivability and efficacy.