FT Technologies – The World’s Toughest Wind Sensors
FT Technologies designs and manufactures wind sensors, also called anemometers, for use in demanding applications in mission-critical situations. Their products can be found operating on all seven continents, providing real-time wind speed and direction measurements in all weather, no matter how extreme.
The small footprint, light weight and ease of integration of FT sensors make them ideal for meteorological applications in the military/defense and naval and aerospace sectors.
Gordon Bease, Director of North American Operations, shared some insights into the company’s success, and why they really do have “The World’s Toughest Wind Sensors.”
Q. That’s a bold claim; how do you back it up?
A. Wind can be an extremely destructive force and it’s often accompanied by extreme weather such as rain, ice, hail and snow, or even with lots of debris in the air, which become projectiles. Therefore, it’s extremely important to have a tough product, otherwise it will fail very quickly! Our wind sensors have no moving parts, have been designed to MIL-STD-810G, and pass 28 international environmental certifications. Our major customers tell us, and we have independently verified their claims, that our data availabilities are >99.9%. We have recently completed winter testing on Mount Washington (“Home of the World’s Worst Weather”), where the icing conditions are more extreme than we can simulate in the lab, and our sensors performed very well.
Q. What are your major markets, and what applications do you serve in the military & defence sector?
A. Our products are found in meteorology and environmental monitoring for critical applications such as wind turbine control, mining operations, hurricane monitoring and marine navigation. We are seeing a lot of interest recently coming from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones, and our technology has a huge advantage over our competitors thanks to the high signal/noise ratio. This makes our products a perfect choice for use in a noisy environment, whether on a fixed or mobile platform.
In the military/defence sector, we are used in fire control to optimise artillery accuracy, CBRNe monitoring, acoustic artillery detection, sniper training ranges, on helicopters and armoured vehicles etc. We continue to be surprised by new applications for our products at every trade show we attend.
Q: To what do you attribute your company’s success?
A: Our technology is unique. We manufacture a highly accurate, precision instrument which also has high reliability and toughness. Those attributes would normally be considered mutually exclusive, but our Acu-Res® technology is virtually immune to environmental disturbances such as bad weather, mechanical vibrations or RF emissions.
Q: How can our readers find out more about your company?
A: For more information, readers can call 337-254-6336, visit www.fttechnologies.com or stop by booth #8014.
