New respirator would allow Air Force maintainers inside fuel tanks to communicate with audio instead of knocks
February 09, 2019 William Howard - Stars and Stripes
Maintenance crews may soon have a safer way to inspect fuel tanks and tight crawl spaces inside tanker planes, instead of just knocking around in the dark.
A respirator mask idea conceived by Mia Tobitt and Master Sgt. William Bell, of the 100th Air Refueling Wing, was announced as one of six finalists out of 320 submissions in the Air Force-wide Spark Tank 2019 competition, where airmen pitch their ideas like an entrepreneur would to a venture capital firm.
Their idea adds audio communication and video feedback to the full-face respirator mask used by mechanics while checking the insides of aerial refueling planes. Two-way communication would boost safety while saving time and money for the Air Force, Tobitt said.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/02/new-respirator-would-allow-air-force-maintainers-inside-fuel-tanks-to-communicate-with-audio-instead-of-knocks/
