Nichols Martin
The Air Force Research Laboratory has granted Battle Sight Technologies exclusive rights to microencapsulated chemiluminescent materials through a licensing agreement.
Battle Sight intends to use the AFRL-developed technology in efforts to create a prototype infrared writing instrument for potential use by warfighters and first responders, the U.S. Air Force said Friday.
The service branch expects military personnel to conduct field test and evaluation of the company’s Marking Appliance Reusable Chemiluminescent instrument as early as this spring and field the device in the summer.
Nick Ripplinger, co-founder and president of Battle Sight, said he found out about AFRL’s material innovation through the Technology Acceleration Project led by Dayton, Ohio-based technology incubator Entrepreneurs Center.
“As a former U.S. Army soldier and warfighter, I instantly saw the impact this technology could have for the end users,†Ripplinger said.
Larry Brott, a materials engineer at AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, previously investigated the microencapsulation of chemiluminescent materials in an effort to maximize the use of glow lights that are commonly used in the military to guide vehicles.
