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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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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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AFRL researchers contribute to prestigious scientific journal ACS Nano

The graphic illustrates how the high-energy electron beam from a scanning electron microscope is used to functionalize transition metal dichalcogenides, or TMDs. Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, researchers from the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate contributed this work to the February 2023 ACS Nano publication “Precision Modification of Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides via Environmental E‑Beam Patterning.” TMDs are a specific class of two-dimensional layered materials essential for the development of emerging sensing and electronic technologies for the Department of the Air Force and commercial market. The example shows hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms as they are added to TMD atomic layers consisting of sulfur (S), selenium (Se), Molybdenum (Mo) and tungsten (W) to functionalize them. The electron beam removes atoms from the TMD, causing a chemical reaction that emits light and heat which can be harnessed for use in sensing and other technologies. (U.S. Air Force graphic)
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AFRL researchers contribute to prestigious scientific journal ACS Nano

The image depicts a novel precision patterning method using the United States Department of the Air Force emblem on monolayer MoSe2, a two-dimensional material made of atomic layers. Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, researchers from the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate contributed this work to the February 2023 ACS Nano publication “Precision Modification of Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides via Environmental E‑Beam Patterning.” The publication introduced an innovative process of altering and tailoring the optoelectronic properties of transition metal dichalcogenides, or TMDs. Researchers can control and manipulate the atomic properties of these materials to draw lines, shapes and desired patterns to demonstrate how the material’s thermal and optical properties can be manipulated for sensing and other technologies. (U.S. Air Force graphic)
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US Rep. Mike Turner visits Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, tours AFRL facility

Air Force Research Laboratory’s, or AFRL, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate Director Darrell K. Phillipson, left, stands with Congressman Mike Turner at the Wright Brothers Institute in Riverside, Ohio, Feb. 13, 2023. Turner, a longtime supporter of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and other Ohio military installations, toured AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate the morning of Feb. 13, where he was welcomed by AFRL Executive Director Timothy Sakulich and representatives from AFRL’s Photonics, Electronics and Soft Matter Division. (U.S. Air Force Photo / Richard Eldridge)
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AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate hosts annual awards ceremony

Darrell Phillipson, director of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, or RX, right, congratulates Capt. Khaimook Klooster as she accepts the Military Award for Company Grade Officer of the Year while Master of Ceremonies Dr. Jonathan Spowart, far left, observes at the 70th Annual RX Awards Ceremony at the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Kenney Hall, Jan. 27, 2023. The Military Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of military members who demonstrate a daily commitment to excellence in their primary job duties and acknowledges the additional obligations placed upon military by virtue of wearing the uniform. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jonathan Taulbee).
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AFRL sponsorship recipient wins NASA space manufacturing contract

Photo on the Left: A pristine 50 mm diameter ternary III-V semiconductor wafer produced at a United Semiconductors facility in Los Alamitos, California.(Courtesy photo) Photo on the Right: A pristine, distortion-free 50 mm diameter ternary III-V semiconductor wafer produced at a United Semiconductors facility in Los Alamitos, California. The pen placed underneath displays the wafer's distortion-free clarity. (Courtesy photo)
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AFRL sponsorship recipient wins NASA space manufacturing contract

United Semiconductors, LLC facility in Los Alamitos, California. (Courtesy photo)
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AFRL sponsorship recipient wins NASA space manufacturing contract

United Semiconductors, LLC facility in Los Alamitos, California (Courtesy photo)
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AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate appoints new director

Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle presents Mr. Darrell Phillipson with the Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
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Dr. Luke Baldwin and Flow chemistry system

Dr. Luke Baldwin with Flow Chemistry machine. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jonathan Taulbee)
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To create the virtual event, a studio-like setting was created for the awards ceremony. From left to right are Timothy Sakulich, Dr. Jonathan Spowart, Keith Slinker and Col. Michael Warner. (U.S. Air Force photo/Spencer Deer)
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Dr. Richard A. Vaia, Chief Scientist at AFRL's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering Class of 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo)
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