Mobile Lightweight Tactical Sensor
The MLTS is a mobile radar sensor made for securing perimeters, targeting military use cases. I worked on the industrial design of the enclosure along with the core team at LGR Technologies. It is a fairly complex product with a lot of integrated electronics and mechanisms.
The design problem was not the housing itself. It was that a folding tripod, a swappable battery, a radar module, electronics, waterproofing, a sealed interface and more all had to occupy the same small volume, survive harsh conditions, and still be operable by one person in gloves. Every decision below is a consequence of that. It is still not a perfect prototype, but we have come a long way since the starting point.
Even though I started with a functional first prototype, I decided to question every assumption from the beginning to see which features were really necessary. There was a lot of back and forth on the leg arrangement and the form, and on how to solve the swappable battery.
The development is easier to trust as a set of mechanisms than as a sequence of sketches, so it is written that way. Each of these went through several rounds before it was something you could hand to an operator.
Not all of it can be shown. The electronics, the radar integration and much of the internal design are confidential, so what follows is the mechanical and physical side of the work.
01
The hinge went through the most iterations of anything on the device. The geometry has to hold the unit level on rock and roots, and still fold in against the body tightly enough that several units stack into one case.
The legs are overmoulded in rubber, so the part that meets the ground and the part that meets the housing are the same component.
Stowed
Deployed
02
A swappable battery was deemed necessary to minimize downtime. The battery will be removed in the dark, in the cold, with gloves. It had to come out fast and easy in the field while staying watertight. We explored a lot of different mechanisms and principles: fully enclosed, loose cells, rechargeable only.
The latch is moulded into the carrier itself: a living hinge that flexes to release and returns on its own, with no spring or additional components to lose or freeze. This solution has shown itself to be a weak point, however, as the latch breaks off too easily. It requires more iterations or a different mechanism.
03
A custom membrane switch was developed to give a simple, sealed interface with minimal visual distraction during field operation. It replaces a set of separate buttons, wires and their seals from the previous prototype with everything printed in one layer, which is what makes the top of the device as small as it is.
The result is tactile, from the metal domes, as well as visual. I designed the graphics and the corresponding user flow and feedback in collaboration with the mechanical and electronics team. Together we arrived at a clean, integrated interface.
Interface panel
The shape, and the way it is split into parts, revolve around the assembly. As I got an overview of the components, it was important to make the assembly possible and keep the right wires reachable at each step. At the same time the aim was to make production efficient and reduce the bill of materials, for example by using the same screws and bits throughout. Unfortunately I cannot describe the assembly sequence or show all the internal components, as it is confidential.
We had printed prototypes made for testing, but the parts are also designed for injection moulding, with draft angles and tolerances. The prototypes were printed in SLA and MJF, chosen part by part: SLA where a surface had to seal and meet the o-rings, MJF where a part had to be tough enough to be handled and dropped.
There is a lot of feedback to take from this project and this prototype into the next iteration.
Designed at LGR Technologies, with an amazing team. Thank you for the collaboration, the trust, and the insights along the way.