Necessity is the mother of invention. Those words are as true today for the Department of the Navy as they were more than 2,500 years ago for the Greek philosopher, Plato.
“It’s the reason TechSolutions was created and is now part of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global, which takes a problem identified by a Sailor or Marine and tries to come up with solutions through a rapid-response technology development program,” said Jason Payne, director of TechSolutions.
Payne said his office is eager to hear about anything needed that may be solved through technology.
“We exist so that Sailors and Marines — whoever they may be, whatever rank, wherever they are, whatever organization they’re part of — can reach out to us with any ideas they have for technology solutions that can help them achieve their objectives, their duties and accomplish their mission,” he said.
Payne added that when TechSolutions starts a project, the aim is to deliver a prototype in about 12 months. However, there may be a few months’ delay from the time the request is received to when the project begins.
Developing a solution, though, first begins with identifying a problem — and for that, TechSolutions is wholly dependent on Sailors and Marines. Dr. Scott Steward, TechSolutions deputy director, emphasizes that a good idea doesn’t necessarily have to come from an engineer or scientist.
“Some people are very deliberate and very detailed in what they want the prototype to be able to do,” said Steward. “And that’s also part of my job — if they are not detailed, I need to work with them and translate that user-speak into science and engineering-speak to go out to the Naval R&D [research and development] Establishment.”
Steward said even if a submission doesn’t include exactly what a scientist or engineer would want to know, he serves as a kind of bridge to translate the needs of the submitter to the researchers.
“Some people just have a few sentences on each question; other people may upload a three or four page document — so it varies widely, but they’re all good.”
Steward reads over the submissions and often follows up with the submitter, in order to clarify exactly what they are interested in trying to achieve.
“Basically I’m looking to determine a few things. First, I want to find out if this is a real need — if we are able to come up with the solution that’s going to make an impact for that community. And if it is, then I’ve got to find out if there is any other work going on that’s trying to fulfill this need or request.”
Steward added that TechSolutions also needs to determine if the submission is something that can be done within its scope, taking into consideration how quickly it can be accomplished and any monetary constraints.
Armed with ideas from Sailors and Marines, TechSolutions has helped develop prototypes for all kinds of innovations — from updated flight deck suits to the Flashing Light to Text Converter (FLTC), recently showcased at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition, which translates Morse code into text.
Steward says another recent idea is currently being fielded to airfields across the Navy and the Marine Corps: The Dynamic Air Traffic Control Refresher Training System realistically replicates the operations, duties and tasks of Air Traffic Control Operators.
All of these innovations were initiated by Navy or Marine Corps personnel, and TechSolutions is actively seeking more suggestions from Sailors and Marines to innovate and improve their capabilities.
Payne said, “We can work with them to get a solution delivered to them and they can be involved in that process. In fact, we prefer them to be involved in that process. We invite them to be involved in that process by spending a little bit of time with the development team, providing user input and feedback once a product is available for them to try.”
Sailors and Marines who wish to make a submission may register for an account with their CAC-enabled computer at the link provided on the TechSolutions webpage. Accounts are validated within a few minutes and ready for input.