The Gruntworks Squad Integration Facility showcased its latest initiatives to lighten and streamline the individual loads Marines carry into combat during the Navy League's 2015 Sea, Air, Space exposition in mid-April. from April 13-15.
On display was an advanced 3-D body scanner, a sophisticated computer simulation program,s and a state-of-the art medical device dynamometers commonly used by professional sports teams to measure performance and stress on joints.
Together, they provide Gruntworks' Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad with an invaluable suite of tools to collect information and test gear that will ensure Marines of the future can both out gun and out run enemy fighters.
"This information helps us improve the fit of equipment like helmets and body armor," said Mark Richter, the director of Gruntworks' Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad team, which is focused on individual mobility.
Over the years, new gear from better body armor to improved new rifle optics and night vision — and the batteries they need to run — have added pounds after pound to Marines' bpacks. Today many carry more than 100 pounds into combat, up from the average 60 pound pack grunts carried during Vietnam. Army studies from Natick Laboratories in 1973 found that infantrymen in warm climates like Vietnam carried about 60 pounds. By 2007, a Naval Research Advisory Committee Report found the average assault load was between 97 and 135 pounds.
Adding all that Immense weight is a problem Richter said. In addition to draining Marines' energy, it places dangerous stress on their joints, which can lead to fatigue, sprains or long-term problems like arthritis or chronic back injuries. Every one of The MERS team works with the mantra "ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain."On the battlefield and in training, weight means fatigue, sprains and stress fractures. In the long term, it can leave Marines with arthritis in major joints and chronic back injuries effecting them long after they leave the service.
But the challenge is far more complex that just gross weight, Richter said. Marines must also be flexible, fast and able to fit through hatches, urban windows and small rooms.
"Combat burden is more than just weight — it's a combination of weight, bulk and stiffness," he said. "We're looking at things like how quickly the Marine is able to get through a doorway with his or her equipment, how the rifle interfaces with the body armor, or whether something interferes with or obstructs the Marine's ability to engage a target."
Here's is a look at a few of Gruntworks' flagship technologies.
GruntSim
Perhaps the most significant piece of wizardry on display by Gruntworks was a body mechanics computer simulator called GruntSim. Using a 3-D computer-aided design capability, it that allows gear developers to kit up a Marine avatar any way they can imagine before running them through a virtual obstacle course.
GruntSim, a computer simulation program, allows gear designers to outfit Marines with whichever pieces of kit they choose before running them through a virtual obstacle course that highlights joint stress.
Photo Credit: Mike Morones/Staff
It is reminiscent of many popular first-person shooter games like the "Medal of Honor" series, but with a very serious purpose. As the avatar runs the course, the program highlights each joint in green, yellow or red depending on the amount of stress a particular combination of tasks and kit puts on a Marine's body. Green is good. Red is not.
Developers can select one of several"average" Marine avatars, ranging from a petite woman to a hulking man formulated after measuring the bodies of countless Marines. It highlights how different body types might handle the same loadout. The model is sophisticated enough to calculate not just how gear will affect torque joints, a Marine's but also effect Marines' center of gravity and even flexibility.
The program was originally developed by the University of Iowa, said Roger Wood, a systems engineer with MERS. The Office of Naval Research began refining the program in 2010 and worked to train Marine personnel to use it starting in beginning October. The Marine officials requested Corps asked for a few tweaks to the software and a finished product was delivered to Gruntworks on April 16.
As developers design new gear, they can add 3-D CAD models to the programs to see how they eaffect Marine mobility as they run through the simulated MC-LEAP obstacle course – short for Marine Corps Load Effects Assessment Program. If a virtual GruntSim test shows the gear fits and doesn't everything is streamline enough to fit and does not put undue pressure on joints, Gruntworks might mock up a real-world prototype, put it on live Marines and run them through an actual obstacle courseMC-LEAP trial. If the simulation flags too many problems, joints with red, however, designers head back to the drawing board.
It prevents injuries, but also offers the service potential time and cost savings by avoiding unnecessary field trials, Richter said.
The programs ability to export CAD files of combat-loaded Marines in any position, also aids the development of future vehicles. The service can provide industry with a virtual Marine to design their vehicles around to ensure they are able to fit seats and fit through hatches, for example.
3-D body scanner
GruntSim wouldn't be as useful without the true-to-life avatars that reflect average body measurements taken from across the fleet. Gruntworks' 3-D scanners make that possible.
Justin Miller of Marine Corps Systems Command scans Wendy Henderson's face during the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., on April 15.
Photo Credit: Mike Morones/Staff
On display at SAS was an abbreviated five-camera head scanner, But at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, the organization has a full-body version used to capture the measurements of hundreds upon hundreds of Marines. The avatars that data is used to create add precision to the gear development and shows more accurately how different gear effects different sizes and shapes of Marines.
The service used to take measurements manually, said Evan Luo an engineer with Gruntworks. But it that was labor intensive, and each person doing the measuring did it each official took measurements slightly differently and the number of data points on record was limited. The data was also tough to capture, and the last time the service conducted a full n anthropomorphic survey in 2010 it took three months to complete, Luo said.
With 3-D scanners, developers have a virtual model of each Marine in perpetuity meaning they come back to it for limitless measurements at any time.
If, for example, developers are working on new binoculars and need to know the average distance between a Marine's pupils, they can go back to scanned models and capture that measurement, Richter said. Under the old method, they might have to conduct a new survey if they didn't measure for that in the past. if they had not thought to capture that initially they were out of luck and would have to run a new survey.
Dynamometer
Typically used by sports teams for physical rehabilitation or to test performance, Gruntworks uses a Biodex brand dynamometer to measure potential stresses on joints caused by various tasks.
Justin Miller of Marine Corps Systems Command tests a subject's leg strength during the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition on April 15. The machine, typically used by professional sports teams, allows researchers to test the force required by Marines to complete various tasks.
Photo Credit: Mike Morones/Staff
For example, if the Marine Corps needs to design a nob on a hatch that all healthy Marines are capable of turning, designers can produce a prototype and attach it to the machine. They can then test a pool of Marines reflective of the entire fleet to determine how much resistance they can reasonably handle and still complete the task.
In fact, Richter said the device it is now being used to test future steering wheels for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle that will ensure a Marine can still steer the heavy ship-to-shore connector vehicle if the power steering system fails.
Whether steering wheels or body armor, Gruntworks is making sure every bit of Marine gear fits and will keep Marines safe without compromising too much agility or energy, or inflict unnecessary wear and tear on their bodies.