About Kevin Abnett and Polartronix
I formed Polartronix in November 2004 to apply advances in micro-electronics technology to remote environments. In 1978, I began working in the electronics industry, knocking around various small high-tech companies, learning as I
went. Later, I spent 14 years working for the University of Alaska, where I designed and built all manner of instruments for scientific research in remote areas. If it’s electronic and you can think of it, I can probably find
a way to build it. (I hold three patents) Some of the more recent projects include:
A portable instrumentation system. The interface module (black box) allows an ordinary PDA to act as a data storage device.
The Arctic Tortoise is an autonomous robotic vehicle (Basically a self driving car) for the DARPA Grand
Challenge Race
An X-Ray spectrometer, which
flew into space aboard a UAF sounding rocket
The ice is 1800 feet thick
on this section of Black Rapids Glacier.
A team of UAF scientists used a steam drill to melt a hole in the ice.
I led the design of a special instrumentation probe that was lowered into the hole, then pounded several
meters into the rock layer below the glacier.
The probe sent data wirelessly to the surface for several months.
Polatronix shop. New projects are
typically designed using high end CAD software. During prototyping,
components are mounted to a custom circuit board.
Polartronix has a complete test bench with the latest equipment, which allows me to get the most complex circuits working quickly. Drop me a line - I like to talk about turning your ideas into reality.
kabnett@alaska.net
“There’s no such
thing as no such thing” – Henry Ford
