NORCO, Calif. (NNS): The Navy announced April 24 its award-winning Metrology Bench Top (METBENCH) automation system that helps Sailors perform some 10,000 calibrations each year has been licensed to industry for the first time, marking the Navy's first cross-licensing patent agreement of its type.
The historic patent licensing agreement creates a unique, two-way sharing arrangement to bring more capability to the warfighter and allows improvements driven by the system's commercialization to be incorporated by the Navy calibration system for no additional fee(s).
Under the license, American Technical Services, Inc. can commercialize Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona's automated calibration system for industrial use. In turn, the Navy gets a license to use ATS's software, worth nearly $1 million, that program managers plan to use to add new capability to its Metrology Bench Top system. The agreement also allows improvements driven by METBENCH's commercialization to be incorporated into the Navy system for no additional fee.
"This is a great example of developing innovative methods for providing tremendous value to the Navy," said John Karasek, supervisory intellectual property counsel at the Office of Naval Research. "The Navy had some specific things that we wanted to achieve, and this agreement was the only way to get this accomplished."
Often unnoticed behind the scenes, calibrations are critical to nearly every aspect of naval operations and help ensure weapons, equipment and systems function safely and accurately to support Sailors' and ships' missions. Calibration assures systems - ranging from an aircraft's laser target designators to night vision goggles to physical plant equipment - meet design and operational requirements.
With this agreement, industry can now take advantage of the significant efficiencies automated calibration offers. ATS president Alen Petrossian says he's already been approached by industry giants on word of the deal.
"Calibration is a multi-billion dollar industry," said Petrossian. "Reducing the labor it takes to stay calibrated will help companies realize the same benefits the Navy already has with METBENCH."
With the vision and support from Naval Sea Systems' Logistics, Maintenance and Industrial Operations Directorate and a common set of user requirements developed by the Test and Monitoring Systems Executive Board's Automated Information Systems Standing Committee, NSWC Corona's engineering team created METBENCH to meet fleet needs, receiving a patent for it in 2007. The system takes once-lengthy manual procedures and shortens them using automation. For example, one calibration procedure for a piece of test equipment went from 120 minutes down to 15, nearly a 90 percent reduction.
So far, METBENCH is installed on 160 Navy surface ships, 28 submarines and multiple Navy shore calibration labs, saving the Navy more than $50 million by 2017. The innovative system has been so effective, the METBENCH team, led by Corona program manager Richard Schumacher, received a Navy Information Management/Information Technology Excellence Award in 2011. Schumacher estimates METBENCH has introduced more than $10 million of efficiencies at shore installations already.
NSWC Corona Commanding Officer Capt. Eric Ver Hage praised the public-private partnership, saying the landmark agreement will bolster the Navy's capability for years to come.
"It is truly awesome to leverage this technology to strengthen our nation's industrial base while driving down costs and increasing capability for the Navy," Ver Hage said. "It's this type of technical excellence and innovative thinking that can help sustain our Navy as we embrace the culture of affordability in today's difficult budget environment."
Ver Hage added this is yet another achievement for the Navy's intellectual property holdings that adds long-term value to the taxpayer, a notion that caught the attention of one of California's senior congressman during the event.
"In a time of tight budgets... this is an example how the United States Navy can save money by entering into agreements that lower costs, bringing innovation to our military, and especially is helpful to the men and women that serve this country in uniform," said Congressman Ken Calvert, who represents Norco, where NSWC Corona and ATS are headquartered.
As a field activity of NAVSEA, NSWC Corona is the designated metrology and calibration agent for the Navy and Marine Corps.