Ridgetop Group
Engineering Innovation
Apache Helicopter Power System Health Monitoring
Working closely with Boeing, Ridgetop provided an effective solution to monitoring the health of on-board power systems for the Apache Helicopter. Due to the harsh environment in a helicopter, monitoring of key systems in the aircraft is essential. The work involved applying Ridgetop’s proven power system monitoring tools and Sentinel Power to extract degradation “signatures” and application of algorithms to provide state of health (SoH) and remaining useful life (RUL) metrics for the complex system.
Semiconductor Design, Layout, Fabrication and Test
Ridgetop is certified as category 1A under the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) as part of the Trusted Supplier Program. Ridgetop has history of designing analog and mixed signal ICs for demanding applications in space satellites that are subjected to extreme temperatures and radiation. Our designs have utilized bulk CMOS, CMOS-SOI, and SiGe at process geometries down to 28 nm channel lengths. Radiation hardness is also a concern, and Ridgetop has addressed those requirements as well. A recent Ridgetop design was delivered to ON Semiconductor for the U.S. Air Force STELLAR Star Tracker.
RotoSense™ MEMS-based Rotational Vibration Sensor Design
Under contract to NASA, Ridgetop designed an effective 3-axis wireless acceleration and temperature sensor for use in a helicopter gearbox system. The initial implementation was designed to detect wear and damage in the helicopter gearbox. This innovative smart sensor design was later commercialized under the Sentinel Motion product line, and is packaged as an Internet-of-Things (IoT) smart sensor, RotoSense™.
RotoSense™ has been tested in other extreme environments, and has been deployed in a variety of industrial applications that require IoT sensing capabilities for shock, vibration, and temperature. The most noteable focus area can be found in the railroad industry where Sentinel Motion and RotoSense are used to monitor the bearings, wheels, and the physical track itself. Click here for more information on that application area.
Learn How RotoSense Is Lowering Costs For Owners and Operators»