Hand-held Devices – Technologies for the Field
ERDC researchers have been working to benefit from the speed, portability, and computational advantages offered by next-generation hand-held devices, such as the Android. Researchers participated in the Army Chief Information Officer-hosted “Apps for the Army” challenge to help overcome mission-related challenges through the power of mobile and Web devices. A mobile team from ERDC’s Topographic Engineering Center captured the “Top 2 Winning Apps” for the Android, “Movement Projection” and “Disaster Relief.”
“Movement Projection” is based on routing algorithms developed in the Battlespace Terrain Reasoning and Awareness-Battle Command program. It allows Soldiers to input obstacles and threats to calculate the best and fastest route to an objective.
“Disaster Relief” supports military personnel working in humanitarian relief and civilian affairs operations. The team is working to enhance the flow of current and actionable intelligence at the tactical level. Both efforts are working to get evolving technologies in the hands of field personnel where they are desperately needed and requested. Such technologies will provide untold new capabilities to our military and emergency response operations.
Dominate the Battlefield
Terrain and weather effects represent a basic, enabling piece of battlefield information that supports situational awareness and the decision-making processes across the spectrum of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations. Terrain and weather impacts can both enhance or constrain force tactics and behaviors, platform performance (ground and air vehicles), system performance (sensors), and even the individual Soldier.
View of dangerous wall fragments resulting from a blast. This is an unprotected one-quarter-scale wall photographed with a high-speed camera during a test at ERDC’s Blast Load Simulator facility. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ERDC’s Battlespace Terrain Reasoning and Awareness-Battle Command (BTRA-BC) research program focuses on the development of software analytics to create information and knowledge products that capture integrated terrain and weather effects and predictive decision tools to exploit such products.
The ultimate objective of this research is to empower battlefield commanders, Soldiers, and military systems with information to understand and incorporate the impacts of terrain and weather on their functional responsibilities and processes. BTRA-BC, funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, has transitioned critical technologies to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Commercial Joint Mapping Toolkit, Digital Topographic Support System, and the Future Combat Systems. These ERDC technologies are giving our warfighters critical information at the field level that will help them dominate the battlefields of today and tomorrow.
AQUA PATH = Safe Water
Because surface water is the primary field water supply for Soldiers, it is critical to detect and locate waterborne biological pathogens in potential drinking water sources in near real time. ERDC, under a Small Business Innovative Research agreement with Sporian Microsystems, has developed AQUA PATH to provide a much-improved ability to monitor the quality of water supplies globally.
AQUA PATH consists of a patented optical biosensor that is sensitive, selective, and can operate for extended periods of time using minimal power. It is easily tailored in the field to detect a variety of pathogens by replacing swappable modular cartridges. The device is connected to a buoy with wireless networking capability, tamper-detection sensors, and additional sensor capabilities. Wireless communications aggregate data and allow a first tier of data analysis. This allows for the rapid detection and notification of natural or human tainting of the water supply.
Multiple buoys have been transitioned and delivered to the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. AQUA PATH is being improved by system integration with commercial-off-the-shelf water sensors, adding global positioning systems capabilities, integrating photovoltaic energy harvesting, and adding information data-handling tools. Such technologies will keep our warfighters moving with safe supplies of drinking water across the globe.
Global Solutions
Technologies from ERDC’s seven laboratories touch all corners of the world and provide critical capabilities to our military, provide enhanced water resources and infrastructure projects, and improve our environment. There are more than 2,000 ERDC research efforts on-going that range from areas of desert sand to the snow and ice of the Arctic, from protecting our Soldiers to protecting the environment, ERDC technologies touch all our lives.
“ERDC interdisciplinary research teams can be assembled from labs across the country,” said Holland. “This gives a unique capability to address a wide variety of complex problems across the spectrum of military and civil works needs of our nation.”
ERDC has some of the most advanced research facilities and equipment in the world, including one of the Department of Defense’s most powerful supercomputer centers. But according to ERDC’s director, these are not the most important factors for a world-changing research organization.
“The heart of ERDC has always been its people,” said Holland. “Their passion and dedication to provide solutions for the toughest problems are what makes the organization a great asset for the Corps and the nation. They are truly making the world safer and better.”
This article first appeared under a different title in the 2011-2012 edition of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Building Strong®, Serving the Nation and the Armed Forces publication.