kSaria Granted Navy Contract

Fiber optic cable manufacturer kSaria Corp. of Lawrence, Mass., has received an $850,000 Small Business Innovation Research Phase II contract from the US Navy. The company will develop an automated, handheld device for cleaning multichannel fiber optic connectors onboard aircraft carriers. When disconnected for servicing, fiber optic equipment on deck is subject to contamination by salt spray, jet fuel, antifreeze and other unwanted particles. Currently, field technicians manually swab the fiber optic connectors, which is a tedious and costly process.