Three Brazilian latest defense technology projects have caught the attention of the US military and are competing for funding under the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) agreement between the two countries. The projects, which include technologies such as mind mapping, bioprinting and artificial intelligence, are being developed by the Center for Defense and Security (CDS) of the National Service for Industrial Learning Integrated Manufacturing and Technology Center (SENAI CIMATEC).
Located in Salvador, Bahia state, the center is a network of vocational schools that provides technical education with the aim of promoting industrial innovation. If the projects are approved, it will be the first time that SENAI CIMATEC will have the financial support of the US military.
Brain map
One of the projects involves using an electroencephalogram to identify military decision patterns. The idea is to use the devices to map the brain functions of military personnel who have a leadership role and advanced decision-making skills, in order to identify what stands out. “This is the first part of the project. The second will be to study the possibility of transferring this experience in some way to the brains of military personnel in training, “said Milton Deiró Neto, senior consultant of CDS. dIALOGUE.
In addition to defense and security, SENAI CIMATEC has 42 other areas of specialization, from food to biomedical engineering. About 900 employees work in these areas, including technicians, professors and researchers. The project to use the encephalogram currently involves psychologists, doctors and engineers.
Bioprinting
The second project that attracted the attention of the US military is the bioprinting of cartilage tissue. “The focus is twofold, with application in the civilian area, as in the case of an athlete who may need to do a certain part of the body, and in the military area, if we think, for example, of a fight. injured person who would need to make a cartilaginous part of the body,” said Deiró.
Bioprinting is an existing technique inspired by 3D printing, which uses biomaterials as raw materials, such as cells and water-based gels, for example. As such, the bioprinter can build structures such as organs and tissues. In the case of the SINAI CIMATEC project, researchers are looking to print cartilage tissue. “The one who had the idea and is conducting the initial research is a professor of biomaterials at CIMATEC, in partnership with the University of California, San Diego. [UCSD]which has a bioprinter,” said Deiró.
According to Deiró, the goal is for CIMATEC researchers to develop the biomaterial in Brazil to later perform printing tests at UCSD. “We always try to do our research in partnership with US-based institutions, which have always been great partners of Brazil,” Deiró added.
Artificial intelligence
The third idea of SINAI CIMATEC is to use artificial intelligence to increase the reliability of welding in nuclear structures. According to Deiró, although nuclear structures already have high safety standards, the SINAI CIMATEC project proposes the improvement of welding procedures and the subsequent maintenance of welded structures through artificial intelligence, “as has happened in other areas, which have shown a degree lower error than human processing. “, Deiró said.
Strengthening the partnership
The approval of the RDT&E agreement by the Brazilian Senate in April 2022 strengthened the exchange of technology between Brazilian and American institutions in the military field. the RDT&E agreement, signed in 2020 during President Jair Bolsonaro’s visit to the US Southern Command in Miami, Florida, allows for closer cooperation in defense technology, also demonstrating the mutual trust that underpins relations between the two nations .