Yank Technologies has been awarded a Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to develop wireless charging solutions for soldier wearable batteries in military vehicles for the U.S. Army.
Yank develops customizable wireless power solutions for industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace, and defense applications. With more than a dozen patents granted and fifty pending, Yank eliminates cumbersome cables and connections to strengthen durability, increase operational efficiency, and enable new product features. The company’s industrial solutions enhance robotic autonomy in factories by charging AMRs enroute to reduce downtime and by wirelessly powering and communicating quality control test functions in real-time. They also develop functionally expandable wireless power solutions to enable new product features in next-generation vehicle interiors to eliminate complex wire harness connections, enabling new features like seamless door removal and complete cockpit reconfiguration while reducing assembly and warranty costs.
Yank is developing a novel wireless charging system for the U.S. Army to recharge conformable wearable batteries (CWBs) within military vehicles while in use by warfighters. Currently, wired charging solutions are prone to significant operational and reliability challenges due to wear and tear of connection terminals. Furthermore, these chargers require warfighters to frequently swap CWBs, which can be cumbersome for warfighters to manage and leads the Army to purchase excess CWBs for inventory.
With Yank Technologies’ novel wireless charging system, batteries will be charged while soldiers are seated within the vehicle, eliminating the need for battery swapping to minimize battery weight, improve battery reliability, and enhance warfighter capabilities.
Current wireless charging solutions require precise, fixed alignment and are unable to power warfighter batteries while in movement and for unpredictable positions. Yank’s novel wireless charging system can wirelessly power CWBs while in motion and as the posture of warfighters changes within military vehicles in real-time.