Desiccation Challenge

Background

Defence and security equipment operate in harsh environments and are subject to significant changes in temperature conditions. A company is looking for innovative solutions that can be applied to equipment such as vehicle sighting systems and cameras.

The moisture that gets trapped in the camera system housing leads to damaged parts and may result in performance degradation or system failure. Systems typically require a desiccation maintenance operation regularly (approximately every 6 months involving a 24 hour cycle) to maintain operation of the equipment. However, there’s a need to significantly reduce or eliminate maintenance.

Routes to consider

This company is interested in solutions that would ideally be retrofitted to equipment already in the field and that removes the process of desiccation. It's seeking solutions that are reliable and robust in harsh environments without impacting performance.

Solutions should be user friendly, require little to no maintenance, minimise the cost of the current desiccation system or be more cost effective in the long run, be reliable, and operate in a range of environments.

Impact

The solution must result in minimum impact in the size and weight of the system. A solution to this challenge will fulfil customer requirements and reduce the risk creating from neglected maintenance procedures.

Evaluation criteria

• Technical viability – proposed solutions must be compatible and have minimal impact on size weight and power
• Costs – solutions should not cost more than the current desiccation solution, unless they provided a significant competitive advantage against other solutions or will be more cost effective long-term
• Reliability – proposed solutions must be able to operate in a range of environments
• Maintenance – solutions should require little to no maintenance or be more user friendly than the current solution

Solutions won’t be considered if, in their opinion:

• Reliability is less than the current desiccation system for moisture removal or prevention
• Solutions don’t adhere to safety requirements, eg maintenance hazards