Researchers say they hope to use this newer technology to reduce generator fuel usage and maintenance requirements and optimize how a unit uses its power.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — As soldiers at every level become more connected and devices proliferate, the strain on the field-level power grid increases.

Staff at the Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command dove into the finer details of power management, auto tuning and analytics to drive how soldiers use power in the field.

Most of that work is focused around the tactical microgrid, basically the network of power that runs tactical operations.

Think thick cables, generators and all the power that lets the computers, radios and networks run to digest the vast amounts of information, communication and other electrical needs consumed by a modern military.

Staff with the U.S. Army Research Engineering and Development Command have applied digitization, software and analytics to help soldiers better manage the Army's tactical microgrid. (RDECOM)

In the not-too-distant past, generator operators and technicians played a sophisticated guessing game that involved a clock, multimeter, flashlight and notepad to measure and mark which power supplies were running, at what level, and where they were on fuel.

But by adding digital capabilities and software-driven devices into the guts of what were simple analog generators and boxes full of copper wiring and switches, they have created a type of brain for what was formerly a mindless system.

Staff with the U.S. Army Research Engineering and Development Command have applied digitization, software and analytics to help soldiers better manage the Army's tactical microgrid. (RDECOM)

That’s resulted in the new Advanced Medium Mobile Power Source, the first new generator for the service in years.

The combination of that device, controllers within the system, and advanced software gives the soldier a centralized place to monitor and manipulate the different devices in the microgrid that will help the flow of power move to where its needed.

“I can tell you if you’re using too many lights or computers on one of those three phase lines and if you’re out of balance,” said Bradley Stanley, an RDECOM computer scientist.

Staff with the U.S. Army Research Engineering and Development Command have applied digitization, software and analytics to help soldiers better manage the Army's tactical microgrid. (RDECOM)

By using software to make those readings, the end user can then shift the strain to other parts of the system, maximizing power output and fuel use for what can be 24-hour, days long operations.

Another software improvement in “autotuning” is helping make what can be a multi-person with expert training four-hour job into an automated procedure handled by the computer.

Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.

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