May 2019 — Passive Occupant Weight Relief (POWR) Harness
Safe was awarded a Phase I SBIR program by the U.S. Navy/NAVAIR to develop a Passive Occupant Weight Relief (POWR) harness to lift the weight of the pilot’s survival vest and armor carrier off of the torso while operating the aircraft. Aircrew back pain is a significant factor affecting aircrew mission endurance and effectiveness and increasing costs for medical treatment and disability. A Design of Experiments (DOE) will be used to determine ability to balance upward load and aft load created by the harness. The POWR harness will not hinder egress and will not require any additional steps to egress.