Flight Systems Test Engineer

Johns Hopkins APL battlefield care innovation named a Fast Company 'World Changing Idea' Audio generated using AI voice technology. Augmented Reality capability aims to improve Trauma Care in remote, high-risk environments. Jun 16, 2026 An augmented-reality-enabled medical guidance system developed at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, has been recognized by Fast Company as a "World Changing Idea" for its potential to improve trauma care where advanced medical expertise and imaging tools are not readily available. The World Changing Ideas Awards recognize organizations and projects developing innovative solutions to critical global challenges. APL was named a winner in the health care and general excellence categories. APL's Augmented Reality for Lifesaving Trauma Care blends augmented reality (AR), predictive anatomy modeling, and artificial intelligence to help users identify internal injuries and offer lifesaving care in the field. It's designed for military medics, emergency responders, and disaster relief personnel who need to make critical decisions in remote or high-stress situations without access to hospital-grade imaging technologies such as CT scanners or advanced ultrasound systems. "This multidisciplinary project demonstrates the Laboratory's ability to bring deep technical expertise to bear for the warfighter and first responders in innovative ways," said APL Director Dave Van Wie. "Recognition like this highlights the promise of the technology and the team's commitment to developing tools for complex operational challenges and advancing battlefield and disaster response capabilities." The system uses a statistical shape atlas, a data-driven model that captures variations in human anatomy, to estimate the location and shape of internal organs based on a few external body landmarks. Enhanced with deep-learning techniques and data from hundreds of CT scans, it can predict 66 anatomical structures within the chest and abdomen. With results displayed on an AR headset, users get a real-time view of likely organ positions during patient assessments. To support trauma diagnostics, the team also developed a prototype AR-based ultrasound interface with voice-activated commands and step-by-step visual cues that guide probe placement for rapidly detecting internal bleeding or collapsed lungs. "Too often, the people who need trauma care most urgently are farthest from the equipment and expertise that can save their lives," said Suzy Kennedy, APL's program area manager for Warfighter Health and Readiness. "A key part of our work is developing capabilities that improve outcomes when access to care is limited. This technology can bring more informed decision-making closer to the patient in resource-limited, time-constrained settings." Future work will focus on characterizing how the system performs in more realistic trauma scenarios as the team continues refining the technology for field use, added Bobby Armiger, the project's principal investigator and managing executive of APL's Research and Exploratory Development Department. "By integrating predictive anatomy, AR, AI, and portable ultrasound, we are exploring how to make advanced medical guidance more intuitive and usable in the field," Armiger said. A panel of Fast Company editors and reporters selected this year's honorees from a competitive pool of more than 1,500 entries spanning health care, technology, artificial intelligence, education, energy, and more. The listing is the latest in a line of Fast Company awards for APL innovations and is the fifth World Changing Ideas honor the Lab has received in the past seven years. APL has also earned seven consecutive placements on Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators list and has been recognized as one of their Most Innovative Companies five out of the past 10 years. Related work. Areas of impact. Mission area. The Applied Physics Laboratory, a not-for-profit division of The Johns Hopkins University, meets critical national challenges through the innovative application of science and technology. For more information, visit www.jhuapl.edu. Media contact.

Johns Hopkins APL collaborates with U.S. Navy and Army to advance autonomous UXO clearance capabilities. Audio generated using AI voice technology. Jun 2, 2026 Katie kerrigan. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, is collaborating with the U.S. Army and Navy to develop and prototype autonomous technologies that clear large operational areas of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other hazards. A central objective of this effort is to integrate autonomous functionality into the Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II (MTRS Inc II) platform, a widely used explosive hazard mitigation system. APL is adapting sensor compute systems developed under prior Office of Naval Research (ONR) and U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center efforts for integration with MTRS INC II, enabling autonomous navigation, standoff detection, and scalable hazard clearance over operational surfaces such as airfields. "Our objective is to develop an autonomous system that can perceive and understand its environment, plan and execute safe paths, and accurately localize explosive hazards," said Christopher Korpela, a senior roboticist in APL's Intelligent Systems Center (ISC). "Once the system identifies a threat, it will be capable of placing a charge or performing other render-safe procedures before continuing its mission. This requires integrated behaviors for avoiding obstacles, detecting relevant objects, and manipulating them precisely from a safe distance." The team is leveraging proven simultaneous localization and mapping technologies to enable robust autonomous navigation capabilities in the MTRS INC II platform. By adapting algorithms that have been operationally validated, the effort emphasizes high technical readiness. This approach enables the team to accelerate fielding timelines while ensuring the system can operate effectively in the complex environments typical of UXO clearance missions. "Advancing this capability on a rapid timeline is critical to ensuring that warfighters have access to tools that increase standoff and reduce risk in hazardous environments," said Lt. Cmdr. Ty Howell, an Army Civilian software engineer and ONR-Reserve Component officer who is supporting this effort through his Navy Reserve capacity. "By focusing on mature, transition-ready technologies, we're accelerating delivery without compromising reliability or safety." The partnership leverages Army requirements under the MTRS INC II Program of Record and aligns with Navy interests in expeditionary explosive hazard mitigation. As part of the collaboration, Howell and electrical engineer Tim Pietrzyk, who represented the U.S. Army's DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center, worked alongside Korpela and APL team members in APL's ISC for several days, focusing on integrating and refining the onboard compute package. Prototype development and field experimentation are ongoing, with data collection and operator feedback informing system refinement and transition planning. This effort reflects APL's commitment to advancing mission-relevant autonomy and delivering robust, agile robotic solutions that support the evolving operational needs of the Department of War. Areas of impact. Mission area. The Applied Physics Laboratory, a not-for-profit division of The Johns Hopkins University, meets critical national challenges through the innovative application of science and technology. For more information, visit www.jhuapl.edu. Media contact.

Novel coating technology withstands extreme combustion environments. Audio generated using AI voice technology. Apr 29, 2026 Katie kerrigan. A cross-disciplinary team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, has developed and applied a novel high-performance coating system engineered to endure extreme thermal and chemical stress. Designed for precision application on complex internal geometries, the coating demonstrated exceptional durability in recent high-temperature testing, highlighting its potential to significantly extend the operational life of components routinely exposed to intense combustion and acidic environments. The Laboratory has been adapting and testing a specialized thermal processing system, known as the Pulse Combustion Engine, for several years. The Pulse Combustion Engine relies on technology developed by ThermoChem Recovery International (TRI) that was originally designed to convert waste into clean synthesis gas, a mixture of gases used to produce energy or fuel. APL researchers collaborated with TRI engineers to modify the system for use in harsh combustion environments that require enhanced protection for the engine's internal components. After extensive APL-led materials studies, the Pulse Combustion Engine underwent rigorous survivability testing and demonstrated exceptional resilience for 13 hours under extreme conditions. Central to the test's success was a specially formulated nickel-chromium-aluminum-yttrium (NiCrAlY) coating, applied using a compact internal diameter plasma spray torch, to protect the system's intricate interior surfaces. "This project exemplifies how APL's unique breadth of expertise drives successful innovation," said Leslie Hamilton, program manager for Science of Extreme and Multifunctional Materials. "The coating withstood conditions harsher than the inside of a volcano - sustaining 1,150°C and exposure to highly acidic gas at concentrations 600 times above what's considered immediately dangerous to life and health. Achieving that kind of resilience required a creative approach rooted in our extensive experience of working with materials for extreme environments." The research effort began with a study to identify metals and coatings best suited for prolonged exposure to high heat and corrosive environments. Using advanced computational methods, including thermodynamic modeling, the team rapidly evaluated a wide range of candidate materials and narrowed the field to two promising formulas. However, the ideal bulk metal identified through simulation was not available in the complex geometries required to make the internal structure of the Pulse Combustion Engine. To overcome this limitation, the team pivoted to engineered coatings, ultimately developing a custom NiCrAlY alloy solution that could be sprayed on the engine's internal surfaces. The research showed that aluminum, particularly when combined with other strategic metals, was essential to achieving the coating's resilience under thermal and chemical stress. Even after identifying a viable coating formulation, the team faced a second major challenge: depositing the coating onto the interior surfaces of extremely narrow pipes - components that would be directly exposed to the system's intense combustion process. "One of the biggest challenges we faced in depositing this novel coating was getting it to adhere to a small inner diameter pipe," said Ken Kane, a materials scientist at APL. "We had to develop a custom approach using a specialized plasma torch, which we'd never used before." For this task, the team built on insights gained from an internally funded research project that explored heat-resistant coating applications for hypersonic vehicle components. Team members systematically experimented with and refined the torch's parameters, eventually identifying that the key to successful coating lay in selecting the appropriate powder morphology - an insight that enabled effective buildup of the coating despite the compact torch's lower power output. "This successful field test required a multidisciplinary approach and the ability to rapidly prototype, test, and refine under one roof," said Cassidy Carroll, an APL analytical chemist and project manager. "APL's unique mix of expertise, facilities, and strong partnerships with industry made it possible to move from concept through design iterations to full-system tests - and eventually to deliver a resilient technology designed to meet real-world challenges and support a safer, cleaner future." Related work. Areas of impact. Mission area. The Applied Physics Laboratory, a not-for-profit division of The Johns Hopkins University, meets critical national challenges through the innovative application of science and technology. For more information, visit www.jhuapl.edu. Media contact.