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AFRL successfully field-tests AI robot to improve DAF manufacturing capability

A multidisciplinary development team, comprised of Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, depot, industry and academia representatives, observes the successful first demonstration of an autonomous robotic incremental metal forming prototype, nicknamed AI-FORGE, at Warner-Robins Air Logistics Complex, Georgia, in late January 2023. Personnel from AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Ohio State University, the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, Yaskawa Motoman, and CapSen Robotics collaborated to develop the robotic blacksmithing system, which uses incremental forming, a heat-assisted metalworking process that permits users to manufacture small lots of customized manufactured parts for military aircraft. During its initial test run, the artificially intelligent system operated autonomously without human interruption for over six hours.

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

Monica Poelking, deputy chief technology officer at Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, speaks during the kick off of the Regional Hub Network – Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The opening ceremony signified the beginning of a partnership between AFRL and Purdue University to collaborate on new science and technology innovations that the warfighter can use faster to keep the country safe. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, partners with Purdue University to kick off the Regional Hub Network - Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, announcing the first three projects: Passive control of hypersonic boundary layer turbulence via porous carbon-matrix ceramics with the collaborative team: Hysonic, AFRL, University of Dayton, University of Dayton Research Institute, Raytheon Technologies, Elevate Ventures; Effect of thermal deformation on reattachment heating overshoot with collaborative team: University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, AFRL; and Development of solid-fueled rotating detonation engines with collaborative team: Purdue University, USSF, Spectral Energies, Adranos. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, partners with Purdue University to kick off the Regional Hub Network - Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. While the ribbon cutting ceremony marked the official start of the partnership, AFRL and Purdue University have been collaborating for more than a year. Three projects were announced at the opening, and more projects are underway. The winners included: Passive control of hypersonic boundary layer turbulence via porous carbon-matrix ceramics with the collaborative team: Hysonic, AFRL, University of Dayton, University of Dayton Research Institute, Raytheon Technologies, Elevate Ventures; Effect of thermal deformation on reattachment heating overshoot with collaborative team: University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, AFRL; and Development of solid-fueled rotating detonation engines with collaborative team: Purdue University, USSF, Spectral Energies, Adranos. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

From left: Dr. Richard Vaia, chief scientist, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL; Mung Chiang, president, Purdue University; Monica Poelking, deputy chief technology officer at AFRL; and Dr. Karen Plaut, principal investigator, AFRL Regional Network Hub-Midwest, cut the ribbon during an opening ceremony for the partnership between AFRL and Purdue University to kick off the Regional Hub Network - Midwest April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

Dr. Richard Vaia, chief scientist, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, speaks during the kick off of the Regional Hub Network - Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The opening ceremony signified the beginning of a partnership between AFRL and Purdue University to collaborate on new science and technology innovations that the warfighter can use faster to keep the country safe. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Capt. Terrence McKenna, test and experimentation lead for Agility Prime with the 370th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS), an Air Force Reserve Command unit out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., takes notes during a meeting. McKenna was one of four Air Force pilots that remotely flew a Joby S4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at the company’s Marina, California, manufacturing facility April 20. (Courtesy photo)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

The Joby S4 is a five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. AFWERX Agility Prime announced April 25, 2023, that it has entered into a third extension of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract with Joby. The extension enables options for Joby to deliver up to nine of its low acoustic signature, zero-operating emissions S4 aircraft to the Air Force and other government partners. The first two Joby aircraft will be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., before March 2024. (Courtesy photo)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Capt. Terrence McKenna, test and experimentation lead for Agility Prime with the 370th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS), an Air Force Reserve Command unit out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., trains in a Joby S4 simulator. The Joby S4 is a five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. (Courtesy photo)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

George "Hank" Griffiths Jr., AFWERX chief of airworthiness and test, trains in a Joby S4 simulator. The Joby S4 is a five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. (Courtesy photo)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Maj. Mike Corson (left), 418th Flight Test Squadron commander, and Capt. Terrence McKenna, AFWERX Agility Prime test and experimentation lead, perform a pre-flight check on a Joby S4 aircraft. The Joby S4 is a five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. (Courtesy photo)

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AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX accelerates agile and affordable capability transitions by teaming innovative technology developers with Airman and Guardian talent.

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AFRL re-ups affiliation with longtime liquid crystal industry partner to meet DOD needs

The image depicts AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI’s prototype progression over the course of 20 years. AMI’s first dimming proof of principle prototype from 1997 was eventually integrated into a Full Complex Curvature Helmet F-35 Visor prototype for the U.S. Department of the Air Force in 2017 to help mitigate pilots’ difficulties managing light transmission during flight. The initial collaboration between AFRL and AMI resulted in the creation of e-Tint, an electronic tint-on-demand liquid crystal technology that can be applied to flexible plastic substrates, such as pilot visors, instead of traditional glass. e-Tint switches from clear to dark faster than an eye can blink — about 0.1 of a second— and is fail-safe in a power outage. This technology was used to create the world's first electronic switchable eyewear which was field tested by the U.S. Army and is now being issued to soldiers through the Approved Protective Eyewear List.  In addition to current applications, the technology is being developed for augmented reality applications and see-through displays, where simultaneously controlling ambient and display light is important, said AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri.(U.S. Air Force photo)

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AFRL re-ups affiliation with longtime liquid crystal industry partner to meet DOD needs

The graphic illustrates how reorienting liquid crystal (yellow) causes dichroic dye (red) to reorient along with it, which changes the transmission of light. In 1997, the U.S. Department of the Air Force identified a need for controlling visor tint in pilot eyewear. Visor tint was affected by light transmission when pilots would go above or below the clouds, as sudden washes of intense sunlight mid-flight impacted their ability to read and track the data on their aircraft-mounted and head-mounted displays. To address this safety issue, AFRL partnered with Kent State University-based AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI, a global leader in liquid crystal technology, to find a solution based on AMI’s proprietary polarizer-free, guest-host liquid crystal system known as e-Tint. AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri likens this system to a molecular version of a Venetian blind. (Courtesy photo / AlphaMicron Inc.)

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Aerospace medicine branch enhances Airmen psychological performance

From left: Aeromedical and Operational Clinical Psychology, or AOCP, branch members Dr. Ivan Colin-Rivera, Lt. Col. Kristen Galloway, Dr. Rachael Martinez, Tech. Sgt. Christopher Thompson and Somtirtha Bag at a team event in the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, or USAFSAM, High Bay at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, March 17, 2023. AOCP consults with units across the Air Force to provide evidence-based psychological support for members. AOCP is a branch of USAFSAM, part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Performance Wing. USAFSAM’s High Bay has multiple aircraft bodies that allow personnel to train for aeromedical evacuation without taking flight. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Ward)

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State-of-the-art terahertz

Left: State-of-the-art terahertz, or THz, communications transceiver system was placed on an aircraft test AFRL’s Terahertz Communications program which aims to determine the viability of using terahertz band frequencies to service future Department of the Air Force communication needs. Right: The transceiver installation on the aircraft is pointed toward a window where standard glass was replaced with THz transparent material to facilitate communications with another aircraft. (Courtesy photo)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Brenda Ronnebaum, project manager, robotics education, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Educational Outreach Office, speaks about the benefits of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, programs such as the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST Tech Challenge March 11, 2023, at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Programs like the FIRST Tech Challenge introduce students to STEM fields while teaching life skills of communication, problem solving and teamwork. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Robots designed and programed by Ohio middle and high school students compete during the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Tech Challenge Ohio State Championship March 11, 2023, at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Senior Air Force Research Laboratory leaders joined students as they competed in the FIRST event, which encouraged students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Robots designed and programed by Ohio middle and high school students compete during the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Tech Challenge Ohio State Championship March 11, 2023, at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Senior Air Force Research Laboratory leaders joined students as they competed in the FIRST event, which encouraged students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Teams prepare their robots for competition in the pit area of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Tech Challenge Ohio State Championship March 11, 2023, at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Senior Air Force Research Laboratory leaders joined middle and high school students as they competed in the FIRST event, which encouraged students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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