In the Lab and Out on the Field

Walk down any of the lab’s endless hallways, open a random door and something weird usually turns up. Here’s a sampling of Natick projects--past, present and pipe dream.

The Biscuit Machine Gun: Proposed in 1962, the “Automatic Rapid-Fire Biscuit-Shooting Oven” was supposed to reduce biscuit baking time from seven hours to 45 minutes. Soldiers could wheel it to the front lines, pour in water and dough mix, and biscuits would pop out the other end.

The Portable Village: Outfitted with Ping-Pong tables, big-screen TV, laundry machines and a gift shop, this 550-person military base can be airlifted anywhere in the world and set up in two weeks. “It offers soldiers a slice of home,” says project supervisor Michael Hope. Thirteen tent cities are already in use, each guzzling 2,200 gallons of diesel fuel and 15,000 gallons of water per day. One spinoff of the portable city: the portable multi-faith chapel equipped with camouflage Bibles and digital hymn machine.

Algae-Filled Mashed Potatoes: In the early 1960s, Army scientists considered a plan to stretch food supplies by blending protein-rich algae into noodles, soup and mashed potatoes. In recent years, Natick has completely overhauled military combat menus, adding such items as burritos, vegetarian pastas and Jamaican pork chops. How do they taste? A Popular Mechanics writer commented: “Napoleon is reputed to have mumbled something about an army traveling on its stomach. Had his troops dined on [Natick’s food], you might be reading this in French.”

Spray-On Clothes: A waterproof but breathable fiber that sprays onto any surface. The result: a “second skin” that also breaks down toxic chemicals. Heidi Schreuder-Gibson, a chemist who previously brewed rocket fuel for the Air Force, hopes to have a prototype in five years.

Inflatable Surgery Center: A Humvee with a rear compartment that inflates into a biochemical-proof emergency room. Patients enter through a decontamination tube after removing their clothes and being spritzed with a light bleaching solution. Scheduled to go into service this year.

Pseudo Mt. Everest: An altitude chamber that can simulate elevations up to 30,000 feet. Used for studying the effects of altitude on equipment and soldiers, the chamber includes a $100,000 toilet. (The vacuum-system commode is necessary because air-pressure differences with outside sewage networks would cause a regular toilet to spew its contents.) Scientists use the chamber to answer questions from the field. For example, if it takes 20 people two days to set up base camp at normal elevations, it will take 24 people for the task in Afghanistan because the high altitude will sideline two of every 10 soldiers with pounding headaches from mountain sickness. In 1999, the chamber was used to replicate conditions aboard a disabled, sunken submarine.

The Food Patch: Officially known as the “Transdermal Nutrient Delivery System,” this device would send nutrients directly into the bloodstream of soldiers on the run. Natick hired 3M, makers of the nicotine patch, to study feasibility.

Fake Peasant Footprint Boot: A Vietnam-era shoe with a sole that created footprints resembling a peasant’s bare foot. A prototype was made, but the concept was rejected.

Bulletproof Spiders: A strand of spider silk as thick as a pencil could stop a Boeing 747 in flight. But attempts to harvest the fibers from captive spiders have failed because arachnids are notoriously cannibalistic. Natick has helped research ways to duplicate the silk in a laboratory. Possible uses: bulletproof vests, artificial tendons, parachute cords.

Miscellaneous: Other Natick testing facilities include a rain room; climate chambers with wind tunnels; a simulated parachute drop machine; a biomechanics lab for measuring stress on the body from backpacks, helmets and shoes; and a laser body scanner for custom-fitted uniforms.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Natick Labs spokeswoman Patty Welsh, Washington Post.