By Ann Roosevelt
More than 100 Galil Motion Control components are part of PVP Advanced Electro-Optical Systems Inc., (PVPAEO), which supply the General Dynamics [GD] Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) with a Commanders Pan Viewer System (CPV)–that gives commanders a 360 degree view of the world, its threats and dangers, from inside the vehicle, according to an industry official.
“We make a kind of a generic motion controller whose mission in life is to move things automatically,” Lisa Wade, VP of Sales & Marketing for Galil Motion Control, said in an interview this week with Defense Daily.
With the PVP CPV, Stryker MGS commanders have situational awareness while riding inside the vehicle, increasing their protection since they don’t have to ride in an open hatch looking around, thus becoming a target.
The company has been in the motion control field for some 25 years making controllers for applications that must be moved precisely and automatically, she said. PVPAEO is one of its customers. Galil Motion Control began supplying the controllers to PVP in about 2002, after a development period to customize the controller to some very specific requirements.
“In about 50 percent of the applications, if we’re building more than one, the customer wants it customized,” Wade said.
PVP needed to interface with different sensors and special communications, thus needed to take Galil’s core motion controller and redesign it for the custom specifications.
The PVP CPV is a gyroscope stabilized periscope system. The precise motion for the gyro system is done by Galil’s DMC-1425 two-axis controller. Customizing included meeting a specific shape to fit in a very small space with a minimum of components that didn’t need much power. The controller includes a VME interface, and meets the standard communication protocol required. The customized controller also has a Position Mode, which responds to specific elevations and azimuth angles and a Rate Mode that ensures sight lines remain stable when driving over uneven terrain.
Galil’s motion controllers have also been used in steering systems by teams competing in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Grand Challenge and Urban Challenge.
As interest grows in automatic and precise movement, the defense market may become a growth area for the company.
“I think so,” Wade said. “I think there was a time where you just didn’t have that much funding or requests, but that’s changing.”
The Galil controllers, large and small, can be found in many areas. For example, the controllers can be used in MRI machines, or in “pick and place” operations, such as those used in producing semi-conductors–anything that involves some kind of precise motion, though applications can be very different. About five years ago, a Galil controller was custom designed for a small space and specific shape to fit inside an IMAX 3D camera for filming the building of the Space Station about five years ago.
Galil controllers were sold to a company that makes fountains perform intricate ballets–those at the Las Vegas Bellagio Hotel. The controllers also may have made your clothes; they’re found in some stitching machines. They’re also found on high tech telescopes automatically tracking stars or satellites.
Galil now has a new fifth generation controller that Wade says is 10 times faster than earlier versions, the Accelera series.