"Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration from the Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009." / Advisor(s): Boudreau, Michael ; Brinkley, Douglas. "December 2009." "MBA Professional report"--Cover. Description based on title screen as viewed on January 28, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Notional Concept, Virtual Work Environment, Management Information System, Urgent Universal Needs Statement, share drive-based database. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-66). Also available in print.

Thesis (M Eng (Research)) -- University of South Australia, 1992

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-59). Also available via the Internet.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) is assigned the mission to render safe and/or dispose of any device, conventional, nuclear, biological, chemical, or improvised, that may cause injury to personnel or damage to property. Teleoperated mobile robots have been fielded to make the job of the EOD soldier less hazardous. The current model in use is the Security Explosive Ordnance Disposal (SEOD) robot. The future model is the RCT Rover. These robots are designed to specifically target improvised explosive devices (IEDs) -- homemade bombs. With their present design these robots have limited capabilities. Only one gripper, which is bolted onto the end of the arm, is provided. It was the objective of the research to take the first step toward increasing the flexibility of this robot by applying technology which presently exists in the industrial robotics area. A feasibility study was proposed which considered both hardware and control issues of proposed changes. A quick exchange device was proposed as well as numerous end effectors to make the robot more adaptable to any given situation. Control and feedback system issues was also investigated that allowed the telerobot to have autonomous control during the end effector interchange sequence. / Master of Science

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): John E. Mutty, Joseph G. San Miguel. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Title from title screen (viewed July 18, 2003). Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61). Also issued in paper format.

A qualitative description of the personal armour design system is elicited by comparing armour throughout the ages. Inputs that 'shape' designs are the materials technology, threat, wearer, task and environment. The emergent properties of protection, ergonomic effectiveness and financial cost form the basis of trade-offs to select final solutions. Work on the protection subsystem refines the key positive emergent property of personal armour. Existing quantifications of protection effectiveness are rejected in favour of a novel measure named the Usefulness Factor, UF. This is the first measure that accounts for the real benefit of armour. A five-stage model is proposed for the assessment of protection. Two feedback loops - due to making tasks as safe as possible and the ergonomic penalty of armour are evident. These must be considered in order to assess protection correctly. Casualty reduction analysis software (CASPER) is used to produce 'approach plots' and 'zones of usefulness' in order to make tasks safer and map the benefit of armour. This approach is demonstrated with the UK's Lightweight Combat EOD Suit against L2A2 and No. 36 Mills grenades, an HB876 area denial mine, a BL 755 sub-munition and a 105mm artillery shell. Assessment of secondary fragmentation from antipersonnel (AP) blast mines defines a threat input that is specific to Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Trials are carried out with explosive charges of 50g to 500g, buried under 5 or 10cm of stones and sand at a range of 1m. The threat is defined in terms of the probabilities of (a) being hit, (b) a hit perforating armour and (c) a hit incapacitating an unarmoured person. The chances of being hit close to the ground decrease to approximately 15% of the value when directly above the mine. Secondary fragmentation is not likely to perforate armour that protects against primary fragments. However, it is likely to incapacitate an unarmoured person. Protection is traded-off against proxies for ergonomic and financial cost effectiveness by using quantitative optimisation of personal armour. This introduces the concept of a 'protection optimisation envelope', which defines the bounds of possibility rather than a single solution. CASPER is adapted to produce weight and cost as well as incapacitation parameters. This provides a model that generates both benefits and constraints of armour. Hence, the foundations are laid for the world's first fully integrated personal armour design tools. The ergonomic effectiveness subsystem is the primary constraint of personal armour. Visor demisting for the UK's Mk 5 EOD Suit provides a simple example. Existing methods of assessment of the ergonomic penalty of armour are considered. A novel development of biomechanics computational models is proposed to predict both the mechanical and thermal burdens of armour.

A qualitative description of the personal armour design system is elicited by comparing armour throughout the ages. Inputs that 'shape' designs are the materials technology, threat, wearer, task and environment. The emergent properties of protection, ergonomic effectiveness and financial cost form the basis of trade-offs to select final solutions. Work on the protection subsystem refines the key positive emergent property of personal armour. Existing quantifications of protection effectiveness are rejected in favour of a novel measure named the Usefulness Factor, UF. This is the first measure that accounts for the real benefit of armour. A five-stage model is proposed for the assessment of protection. Two feedback loops - due to making tasks as safe as possible and the ergonomic penalty of armour are evident. These must be considered in order to assess protection correctly. Casualty reduction analysis software (CASPER) is used to produce 'approach plots' and 'zones of usefulness' in order to make tasks safer and map the benefit of armour. This approach is demonstrated with the UK's Lightweight Combat EOD Suit against L2A2 and No. 36 Mills grenades, an HB876 area denial mine, a BL 755 sub-munition and a 105mm artillery shell. Assessment of secondary fragmentation from antipersonnel (AP) blast mines defines a threat input that is specific to Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Trials are carried out with explosive charges of 50g to 500g, buried under 5 or 10cm of stones and sand at a range of 1m. The threat is defined in terms of the probabilities of (a) being hit, (b) a hit perforating armour and (c) a hit incapacitating an unarmoured person. The chances of being hit close to the ground decrease to approximately 15% of the value when directly above the mine. Secondary fragmentation is not likely to perforate armour that protects against primary fragments. However, it is likely to incapacitate an unarmoured person. Protection is traded-off against proxies for ergonomic and financial cost effectiveness by using quantitative optimisation of personal armour. This introduces the concept of a 'protection optimisation envelope', which defines the bounds of possibility rather than a single solution. CASPER is adapted to produce weight and cost as well as incapacitation parameters. This provides a model that generates both benefits and constraints of armour. Hence, the foundations are laid for the world's first fully integrated personal armour design tools. The ergonomic effectiveness subsystem is the primary constraint of personal armour. Visor demisting for the UK's Mk 5 EOD Suit provides a simple example. Existing methods of assessment of the ergonomic penalty of armour are considered. A novel development of biomechanics computational models is proposed to predict both the mechanical and thermal burdens of armour.

Vid röjning av RSV-ammunition saknas idag adekvat beslutstöd för att dimensionera skadebegränsande åtgärder mot jetstrålens verkan. I uppsatsen vidareutvecklas en beräkningsmodell som författaren tidigare föreslagit. Syftet är att skapa ett verktyg som kan införas i ammunitionsröjningsverksamheten. Fullskaliga skjutförsök har genomförts för att klarlägga inverkan av förhållanden som är typiska vid ammunitionsröjning; en skyddskonstruktion byggd av sandsäckar och med ett långt detonationsavstånd till röjningsobjektet. Försöksresultatet visar att den grundläggande hydrodynamiska penetrationsteorin inte är användbar för dessa förhållanden. Vidare ger sandsäckskonstruktionen signifikant bättre skydd mot jetstrålen än en homogen grusbädd. Genom störningsanalys har känsligheten hos de enskilda parametrarna i beräkningsmodellen för verksamhetstypiska fel utretts. Härefter har Monte Carlo-simulering använts för att analysera den sammanlagda inverkan som dessa fel kan ge. Resultatet har legat till grund för att bestämma modellens säkerhetsmarginal. Militär nytta innebär att modellen skall kunna tillämpas fältmässigt, med korta tidsförhållanden och utan tillgång till avancerade beräkningshjälpmedel. Detta har lett fram till att ett enkelt diagram inkluderats i det kompletta dimensioneringsverktyget. Verktyget föreslås införas i regelverk och utbildningssystem för att avhjälpa den brist som råder idag. / During the clearance of shaped charge ammunition, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel lack adequate means for the design of protective measures against the jet. In this thesis a calculation model, previously suggested by the author, is developed further. The aim is to create a tool that can be applied to EOD operations. Full-scale experiments have been conducted to clarify the effects of conditions that are typical for EOD operations: protective measures built from sandbags with a long standoff distance to the ordnance. The results indicate that the hydrodynamic penetration theory is not suitable for these conditions. Furthermore, a sandbag construction provides significantly better protection against the jet than a homogeneous gravel construction. By disturbance analysis, the sensitivity of the individual parameters in the model is studied for typical errors. Subsequently, Monte Carlo simulation has been used to analyse the effect these errors can cause. The simulation results have then been the used to determine the model´s margin of safety. Military utility implies that it should be possible to use the model under field conditions, with limited time frames and without access to advanced calculating means. This has resulted in a simple diagram included in the comprehensive design tool. It is proposed that the tool is implemented in regulations and curricula in order to remedy today’s lack of decision support.

<p>Den här uppsatsen är skriven inom ramen för ämnet <em>Krigsvetenskap</em> under författarens studier på <em>Yrkesofficersprogrammet</em> 2006-2009 till arméteknisk officer. I <em>Ammunitions- och minröjning i modern konflikt</em> ges läsaren genom deskriptiv metod en exposé över ammunitions- och minröjningens grunder, historia och nutid. Uppsatsens generella syften är att avhandla problematik som svenska ammunitions- och minröjare i sitt yrkesutövande idag kan ställas inför. Och hur delar av den tekniska organisationen och teknisk utrustning för detektion, lokalisering och klassificering av minor, Explosive remnants of war (ERW), Improvised explosive device (IED) och försåt kan bidra till att lösa denna problematik. Författaren genomför utifrån sina intervjuer och litteraturstudier prediktioner av den kommande utvecklingen på området. Prediktionerna innefattar bland annat tydligare teknisk stödorganisation och multisensorplattformar för detektion, lokalisering och klassificering av minor, ERW och IED. I texten redovisas viss forskning från Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut (FOI) och visst arbete vid Försvarets materielverk (FMV), Totalförsvarets ammunitions- och minröjningscentrum (SWEDEC).</p> / <p>This essay is written in the course of <em>War science</em> during the author’s studies to become an Officer in the technical corps, in the Swedish armed forces. Due to the descriptive method in <em>Explosive Ordnance Disposal and demining in modern conflict </em>the reader gets an exposé of the basics, history, and present time features for the Swedish EOD- and Demining personnel. The main purpose with this essay is to discuss the problems that Swedish Explosive ordnance clearance (EOC) personnel might encounter in their current daily service. The opportunities for parts of the supporting technical corps and the technical equipment for detecting, locating and classifying mines, Explosive remnants of war (ERW), Improvised explosive device (IED) and booby-traps to be at hand in the process of solving these problems are also discussed. From interviews and literature studies the author conducts predictions of the development in the subject area. The predictions contains amongst others a more understandable supporting technical corps and multi-sensing-platforms for detecting, locating and classifying mines, ERW, IED and booby-traps. Some of the research that the Swedish defence research agency (FOI), the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) and the Swedish EOD- and Demining Centre (SWEDEC) have produced is presented in the essay.</p>