Apparently S.O.Tech drew quite a crowd at the recent Special Operations Medical Association conference in Tampa, Florida. This was in part due to their work with DynGlobal on tactical solar power and water filtration technology. We’ve actually given you a sneak peek of their collaborations during our Summer OR coverage.
Utilizing S.O.Tech’s new “VIPER†Plate Carrier, DynGlobal produced a “solar harvesting†panel to provide USSOCOM with significantly higher levels of “renewable†energy from the sun. In addition to the use of solar power and a lightweight battery system that integrates into the VIPER Plate Carrier and S.O.Tech packs, they also displayed a hydration pack filtration system that removes bacteria and other impurities including radioactive isotopes, a portable blood warming and cooling pack, an MBITR solar powered radio charger, and a portable micro air conditioning unit for vehicles and tents.
The center point of the display was a set of light weight foldable high output rugged solar panels that can power individual tactical electronics, medical encampments, FOB’s and command centers. As a reference to the importance of DynGlobal’s innovations, a typical solar panel available on the market today can generate energy to power a cell phone after 10-12 hours (less than 10% conversion efficiency), DynGlobal’s proprietary panels are so efficient that they can power a laptop in less than one hour at greater than 40% efficiency. These technology improvements mean solar power is now efficient enough to be deployed into the tactical environment. S.O.Tech and DynGlobal have been working with SOF over the past year to develop S.O.Tech’s new VIPER plate carrier and load carriage system integrating DynGlobal’s solar and power technology. Their system allows the Soldier to drop his MBITR radio into a S.O.Tech radio pouch which integrates a radio charger. It will charge the radio’s battery while in the pouch using power harvested from the solar panel and battery pack. Essentially, anything with a battery (GPS, cell phone, laser range finder, NODS, flashlight, tablet PCs, Sat Phones and survival beacons) can be similarly charged, reducing the need for heavy and costly batteries. SOTech’s Jim Cragg and Neil Trusso are pictured above wearing the VIPER Vest system and holding the vest mounted solar panel with a light weight 60 or 120 watt battery. Rob Hill, DynGlobal’s solar engineer and kit integrator is pictured holding a representation of warrior and camp-supporting solar power and water filtration system. Make sure you visit S.O.Tech at next month’s SHOT Show where they will be exhibiting this technology along side DynGlobal.
