Diversified Technical Systems
Corporate brand
UnclaimedDiversified Technical Systems is a U.S. manufacturer of miniature, high-shock data-acquisition systems and sensors used for testing products and human impacts in extreme environments.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Diversified Technical Systems, commonly known as DTS, is an American engineering and instrumentation company specializing in compact data-acquisition systems, sensors, and measurement technologies for environments involving severe shock, vibration, acceleration, impact, and other demanding test conditions. The company was founded in 1990 by crash-test engineers Mike Beckage, Steve Pruitt, and Tim Kippen. Its original expertise was closely associated with automotive crash testing, but the business subsequently expanded into aerospace, military and defense, industrial testing, sports science, and injury biomechanics. DTS develops equipment designed to capture high-speed physical data from crash dummies, vehicles, helmets, aircraft, spacecraft, structures, and other test articles. Its products are intended to operate in locations where conventional laboratory instrumentation may be too large, fragile, or difficult to connect. The company’s systems can be installed inside test dummies, on helmets, in vehicles, or directly on structures, allowing engineers and researchers to record acceleration, force, pressure, angular motion, and related measurements during impacts and other transient events. A significant early development was the company’s work on modular data-acquisition systems. In 1994, DTS established Roller Coaster Testing Services, reflecting an early application of its measurement capabilities beyond conventional automotive testing. In 1996, the company became an S corporation and introduced a modular data-acquisition system developed for KARCO Engineering. DTS later introduced the TDAS PRO product line, which became one of its major platforms for crash-test data collection. The company gained an important position in occupant-protection research through its work on in-dummy data acquisition. After winning a contract in 1999 related to the Worldwide Side Impact Dummy, DTS developed and introduced a centralized in-dummy data-acquisition solution in 2000. Its technology was subsequently associated with WorldSID and other advanced anthropomorphic test devices. These systems reduce the need for extensive external wiring and allow measurements to be collected close to the point of impact, supporting more realistic and efficient crash testing. DTS also expanded into military and protective-equipment applications. Its helmet-mounted sensing technologies were fielded with the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company’s HEADS, or Headborne Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Systems, was developed as a helmet-mounted shock recorder intended to collect field information that could help assess whether a service member might require medical attention after a potentially injurious event. DTS received a Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research award in 2006 to develop a compact, self-powered impact event recorder for head-protection equipment. The Army later recognized its helmet-sensor technology and became a substantial customer. The product portfolio broadened during the 2000s and 2010s to include the SLICE miniature modular data-acquisition platform, TSR and TSR PRO angular-rate and sensor technologies, force sensors, helmet recorders, and systems for structural and barrier testing. DTS instrumentation was used in demonstrations and broadcast testing, including extreme-impact and crash-related programs. The company also supplied systems for large-scale test facilities, including equipment selected by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation for crash-barrier load-wall testing. DTS’s defense work included the Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin, or WIAMan, a U.S. Army program intended to create a test dummy for measuring injury risks associated with blast exposure. DTS was awarded a contract to engineer and deliver a working prototype and later provided a technical data package to the Army’s WIAMan Engineering Office in 2018. The company’s measurement systems have also been used in aerospace applications. DTS TSR PRO instrumentation flew aboard NASA’s Artemis I mission, launched in November 2022, to gather mission data. The company has maintained its manufacturing base in the United States while operating technical centers serving customers in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In 2021, DTS became part of Vishay Precision Group, a publicly traded measurement and sensor-technology company. DTS therefore operates within a larger group focused on precision measurement, sensing, and test applications while retaining its identity and specialization in high-shock data acquisition. Its current brand position is that of a specialized instrumentation supplier for safety-critical testing, advanced vehicle development, defense research, aerospace programs, and biomechanics.
History
Diversified Technical Systems was established in 1990 in the United States by crash-test engineers Mike Beckage, Steve Pruitt, and Tim Kippen. The founders focused on instrumentation capable of recording data during severe impacts and other transient events, initially serving the automotive crash-testing community. Their core challenge was to make data-acquisition equipment sufficiently small, rugged, and reliable for installation in crash dummies, vehicles, protective equipment, and other test environments where conventional laboratory equipment could not be used effectively. In 1994, DTS created Roller Coaster Testing Services, extending its measurement expertise into amusement-ride testing. The company became an S corporation in 1996 and introduced a modular data-acquisition system developed for KARCO Engineering. Two years later it launched TDAS PRO, a major data-acquisition product line for crash and impact testing. DTS’s work with anthropomorphic test devices became a central part of its development. In 1999, the company won a contract connected with the Worldwide Side Impact Dummy and subsequently created a centralized in-dummy data-acquisition system. Introduced in 2000, the system enabled measurements to be collected within the dummy rather than relying entirely on external cabling. DTS later proposed and supported in-dummy applications associated with WorldSID and expanded its product technologies through SLICE miniature data-acquisition systems, TSR technologies, and angular-rate sensors. The company began applying its capabilities to defense and protective-equipment research during the 2000s. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded DTS a Small Business Innovation Research contract to develop a small, self-powered impact event recorder for head-protection equipment. DTS later supplied helmet sensors and recorders used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its HEADS system was designed to record helmet-borne shocks and provide field data relevant to possible mild traumatic brain injury. The Army recognized the helmet-sensor technology as one of its notable inventions, and DTS delivered substantial quantities of helmet recorders during the early 2010s. DTS grew beyond automotive crash testing into aerospace, defense, industrial measurement, sports, and injury biomechanics. Its SLICE system was used in extreme-impact demonstrations, while its instrumentation appeared in television coverage of crash and structural tests. The company also supplied systems for large facilities. In 2012, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Department of Transportation selected TDAS G5 equipment for a 640-channel crash-barrier load-wall application. During this period DTS reported a growing international presence, with a headquarters and technical centers serving customers across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The company relocated its corporate headquarters to Seal Beach, California, in 2013. Its defense work continued through the U.S. Army’s Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin program. DTS was awarded a contract to engineer and deliver a prototype blast-test dummy, known as WIAMan, and supplied a technical data package to the Army’s WIAMan Engineering Office in 2018. The program used advanced instrumentation to study injury-producing loads associated with blast exposure. DTS also developed aerospace applications. TSR PRO instrumentation was placed aboard NASA’s Artemis I mission, which launched in November 2022, to gather data during the mission. This reflected the company’s broader shift from a primarily automotive instrumentation supplier to a specialized provider of high-shock sensing and data-acquisition technologies for multiple safety-critical sectors. On June 1, 2021, DTS became part of Vishay Precision Group, Inc., a publicly traded company specializing in precision measurement and sensor technologies. The transaction placed DTS within a larger international measurement group while preserving its specialized brand identity. DTS’s historical and continuing role is that of a U.S.-based manufacturer and engineering partner for customers that need reliable, compact instrumentation in crash, blast, aerospace, defense, industrial, sports, and biomechanics testing.
- 2022
Artemis I instrumentation mission
[1]DTS TSR PRO instrumentation flew aboard NASA’s Artemis I mission to collect mission data.
- 2021
Acquired by Vishay Precision Group
[1]DTS became part of Vishay Precision Group on June 1, 2021.
- 2018
WIAMan technical data package delivered
[1]DTS delivered a technical data package to the Army’s WIAMan Engineering Office.
- 2015
WIAMan prototype contract
[1]The U.S. Army awarded DTS a contract to engineer and deliver a working prototype for the WIAMan blast-test-dummy program.
- 2013
Headquarters moved to Seal Beach
[1]DTS relocated its corporate headquarters to Seal Beach, California.
- 2012
TDAS G5 selected for crash-barrier testing
[1]NHTSA and the U.S. Department of Transportation selected TDAS G5 equipment for a 640-channel crash-barrier load-wall installation.
- 2011
HEADS fielded by the U.S. Army
[1]The first HEADS production lot was shipped and units were fielded by the U.S. Army.
- 2010
HEADS production units delivered
[1]The first production units of the HEADS helmet-mounted shock-recording system were delivered.
- 2006
First Department of Defense SBIR award
[1]DTS received a Small Business Innovation Research award to develop a self-powered impact event recorder for head-protection equipment.
- 2000
Centralized in-dummy system introduced
[1]The company introduced a centralized in-dummy data-acquisition solution for advanced crash testing.
Products and positioning
A specialist, engineering-led supplier of compact and rugged measurement systems for high-shock, high-speed, and safety-critical testing.
Crash-test data-acquisition system · 1998
TDAS PRO
TDAS PRO is a DTS data-acquisition platform developed for crash and impact testing. It is part of the company’s long-running TDAS family and is designed to record high-speed measurements from crash dummies, vehicles, structures, and related test equipment under severe transient loads.
Miniature modular data-acquisition system
SLICE
SLICE is DTS’s miniature modular data-acquisition technology. Its compact form factor supports installation in locations where larger instrumentation is impractical, including crash dummies, vehicles, protective equipment, and experimental test articles. The platform is intended for high-shock and high-speed measurement applications.
Helmet-mounted shock recorder · 2010
HEADS
HEADS, short for Headborne Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Systems, is a helmet-mounted recording system designed to capture shock and impact data experienced by the wearer. The technology was developed for military and protective-equipment research and was intended to support field assessment of potentially injurious head impacts.
Sensor and angular-rate instrumentation
TSR and TSR PRO
DTS TSR technologies provide sensing and angular-rate measurement for demanding test environments. TSR PRO instrumentation has been used in aerospace and other applications requiring compact, rugged measurement equipment, including NASA’s Artemis I mission.
Impact recorder · 2006
Impact Event Recorder
The Impact Event Recorder was developed as a small, self-powered device for recording impact events. DTS pursued the technology under a Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research award, with an emphasis on attachment to head-protection equipment.
Blast-test dummy instrumentation · 2015
WIAMan instrumentation
WIAMan instrumentation supported the U.S. Army’s Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin program. DTS engineered and delivered a prototype and later supplied a technical data package for a blast-test dummy intended to measure loads and injury risks associated with blast exposure.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin program
United States defense
DTS participated in the U.S. Army’s WIAMan program to create a blast-test dummy capable of collecting data relevant to injury assessment.
Outcome. DTS delivered a working prototype and later provided a technical data package to the Army’s WIAMan Engineering Office.
- 2011Military helmet-sensor fielding
United States defense
DTS supplied HEADS helmet-sensing technology for field use by the U.S. Army and related military users, focusing on the recording of headborne shock exposure.
Outcome. The first production lot was shipped to the Army, and the technology received recognition in the Army’s technology and invention programs.
- 2009Extreme-impact demonstration testing
United States · Sports and entertainment
DTS SLICE instrumentation was used to collect data during an extreme diving demonstration associated with Professor Splash, illustrating the platform’s ability to record high-speed impact events in unusual environments.
Outcome. The instrumentation supported data collection for a reported world-record demonstration and helped showcase DTS technology outside conventional automotive testing.
Brand decisions
2022
TSR PRO used on Artemis IProduct launchBackground
DTS’s compact and rugged instrumentation was applicable to aerospace missions requiring data collection under demanding launch and flight conditions.
Action taken
TSR PRO instrumentation was placed aboard NASA’s Artemis I mission to collect data during the flight.
Aftermath
The mission extended the documented use of DTS instrumentation into human-spaceflight program testing and aerospace data collection.
2021
Join Vishay Precision GroupM&ABackground
DTS had developed a broad portfolio of high-shock instrumentation serving automotive, defense, aerospace, industrial, sports, and biomechanics customers.
Action taken
On June 1, 2021, Diversified Technical Systems became part of Vishay Precision Group, a publicly traded precision measurement and sensor company.
Aftermath
DTS became part of a larger international measurement group while continuing to operate as a specialized DTS brand.
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