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 The
'see-through' viewer is clipped to standard Oakley M-Frame military
approved eyewear with fully adjustable viewing angle allowing
the display to be moved above or below the line of sight to
increase situational awareness. The device weighs about 50 grams,
and is compatible with the left or right eye. It can be operated
in daylight or at night, delivering monochrome green SVGA display
at a resolution of 800x600 or VGA at 640x480.
A different input device developed by Vuzix Tactical Display
Group is a TacEye miniature eyepiece that can be attached to
standard goggles to form a 800x600 SVGA head mounted display.
The TacEye runs for five hours on a single rechargeable lithium
battery, supporting operating modes from full daylight to total
darkness, where special filters are used to interface with the
goggles and minimize leaks that can indicate the warfighter's
position to the enemy.
ITL Optronics from Israel displayed an integrated hand-held
controller and display system, designed for day or night operations.
The device weighs only 300 grams and uses high resolution OLED
mini display from eMagin; an integrated line-of-sight sensor
enables automatic image or map orientation. Built-in mouse buttons
provide an interface with the computer.
Jeffrey Paul, program manager at DARPA responsible for the Multispectral
Adaptive Networked Tactical Imaging System (MANTIS) program
introduced this breakthrough program, which aims to improve
the soldier's night vision capability through integration of
advanced sensing and processing technologies. MANTIS studies
the benefits multi-spectral fusion performed on the helmet or
hand held viewer, using an advanced 'system on a chip' processor.
The system will improve the soldier's ability to see at night,
under difficult visibility conditions including typical urban
ambient lights (light bulbs, fires, car lights etc.), under
moonless or cloudy skies, penetrating through smoke, fog, dust
and flares. The system will also support video sharing trough
'picture in picture' functionality.
Command and Control Systems
 New
versions of Cobham's Integrated
Digital Soldier System (IDSS) were displayed at Soldier
Technology 07. The company demonstrated the latest version of
its Battlehawk situational awareness and communications software
and a new wrist worn display called MDT. In addition to standard
time display (watch), it can also display a plan position indicator
with two range scales, showing relative locations of team members
and targets. The device can also show incoming text messages,
or heading indication (compass rose).
Thales UK unveiled at Soldier Technology 07 its new MILTRAK,
a command and control unit designed for infantry teams. MILTRAK
comprises a navigation module, and a separate display system
used primarily by leaders. It uses a simple interface, similar
to the older designs used mobile phones, to provide navigation,
situational awareness (SA) picture and short text messages.
The Eurotech Group launched at Soldier Technology 07, the
Zypad, a rugged wearable computer built with hardened mechanical
design optimized for field uses. The device can be adapted to
run at different application levels, such as 'basic', mission
and 'emergency'. The Zypad supports an integral 640x480 pixel
VGA display with 256 colors and an overlaid touch screen. It
supports bluetooth Class 2 communications of ZigBee as well
as 802.11 wireless LAN. It also integrates a 16 channel GPS
receiver and DGPS device, accelerometers, electronic compass
and biometric ID.
Elbit Systems unveiled its latest, and most compact wearable
computer system designated 'Terminal'. This is a modular computer
system powered by an RMI dual processor running Windows CE operating
system. The Terminal computer provides high quality graphics,
supporting two simultaneous 1920x1200 pixel displays, including
a direct interface to the OLED
(VESA). The system has a modest power consumption of only 6.5
watts, supplied by two hot swappable external Lithium Polymer
batteries sustaining continuous 4-5 hours of operation. This
modular computer weighs 0.7 kg (excluding batteries) and provides
the heart of the new IDF command and control system for dismounted
operations (also known as Dominator or Integrated Advanced Soldier
- IAS). In this configuration, Terminal is used as a wearable
computer coupled with a hand held display, a radio (PRC710),
eyepiece display and headsets, mobile Wireless Local Area Network
(WLAN) and navigation system. All elements are embedded into
a wearable system and armor vest weighing less than five kilograms.
GPSless Navigation
GPS independent navigation has posed a significant challenge
for modern soldier systems, particularly when engaged with urban
operations, where GPS coverage is not available. Several systems
already offer solutions to this problem. Draper developed the
Personal Positioning System
(PPS) in response to the US Army requirement for Personal
Navigation System, required to provide autonomous, uninterrupted
position, location and attitude reference in GPS-challenged
signal environment. This robust suite is currently in prototype
phase. A similar system is also under development in Israel,
by Elbit Systems, for the Israeli
Integrated Advanced Soldier (IAS) program. This navigation
system will enabling effective navigation in areas where GPS
cannot be relied upon. The system uses a combination sensors,
such as gyro, compass, accelerometers and barometric pressure
sensor, to determine the location of the unit (distance travelled
and direction) relative to the last confident GPS reference
point. The system is attached to the soldier's gear and will
continue to determine accurate location for several hours after
GPS contact is lost. Its accuracy is determined as a function
of the distance traveled without GPS reference. It is effective
throughout the soldier's combat activities, including running,
walking, crawling or sprinting. The system weighs about 100
grams and is calibrated to reflect the individual soldier's
activities using his personal identification identification
tag.
Topics covered in this review:
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The
latest display systems introduced for modern soldier systems
incorporate miniature 'near-eye' transparent viewers and hand-held
displays, offering wide field of view, efficient visibility
in daylight conditions and covert, NVG compatible display at
night time. Among the latest transparent eyepieces are the mini
displays produced by 
