Enigma wins vehicle contract

The Marine Corps in late summer awarded a contract worth more than $700,000 to Enigma Inc. of Burlington, Mass. to provide technology that will help crews of light-armored vehicles maintain and fix their vehicles in remote locations without a mechanic.

The Marines want an interactive electronic technical manual that would allow those with less technical knowledge than a mechanic to perform maintenance and repairs in remote locations.

The interactive electronic technical manuals will provide instant access to service manuals and parts catalogs for all eight models of light-armored vehicles used by the Marines, and will tie into on-board diagnostic and configuration management systems, as well as parts-ordering and inventory systems.

"The guys in the field will be able to connect their vehicle to a diagnostic bus that is connected to all of the sensor information for that vehicle," said John Snow, an Enigma vice president. "They will then get a fault code telling them what is going on inside the vehicle."

However, beyond simply identifying the problem, Enigma's interactive manuals will lead the crew through the diagnostic and provide the means to fix the problem.

The electronic manual lets users specify their level of maintenance proficiency, modifies the delivery of information accordingly, and tracks the changes and repairs they make.

Enigma draws content from 18,000 pages of documentation, including 70 manuals and parts catalogs. In addition, when replacement parts are required, the crew can order them directly through the application, which executes an electronic order requisition consistent with Defense Department specifications.