Second generation combat armour unveiled

13th April 2016

Jordan Mulcare

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Unified Weapons Master (UWM), a combat sport that combines advanced patented technology with traditional weapons martial arts, has unveiled its Lorica Mk II, the next gen of its intelligent combat armour in the company’s first official combat test event.

Six international weapons martial artists battle tested the new armour during UWM’s Vital Target Combat (VTC) underground test event in Wellington, New Zealand last week. Made of carbon fibre and other composite materials, the Lorica Mk IIis embedded with enhanced force measurement sensors and scoring software that objectively measures the location and force of strikes to the armour, as well as the damage each blow would cause to an unprotected body.

The armour and supporting technology have been developed by Chiron Global, an Australian-based company that has spent the past six years developing, building and patenting the technology solution.

Rick Walker, UWM’s Managing Director said that since launching the first generation Lorica Mk l in 2014, the company has conducted extensive research and development to further fine-tune the armour and its technology.

“The knowledge we have gained over the past two years through extensive mobility, comfort and impact trials has enabled us to achieve significant technological milestones and take a huge step towards making the armour combat ready. The Mk II is lighter, has better articulation, more advanced sensor technology and a reduced profile. The 30% weight reduction from the Mk I prototype suits means the fighters can move more explosively and the Mark II suits are also cooler, allowing the fighters to compete for longer without taking a break. ”

The armour has been designed to withstand high-impact strikes from blunt martial arts weapons, providing high levels of protection during combat. It consists of three layers: an undergarment with integrated harnessing and cooling, a chassis layer that is embedded with advanced force measurement sensors, microprocessors and radios and a removable exterior shell.

A specialised team that includes defence contractors and software engineers has spent the last six months enhancing the sensor technology and scoring software. Data from the sensors is processed at a rate of 10,000 samples per second (10kHz), processed by on board microprocessors and transmitted via radio to a scoring computer, where the force and location of each blow is displayed in real-time.