What are the most desirable features of smartphones and other consumer mobile electronics? Let's run through the checklist. Lightweight. Long battery life. Low cost. High functionality. Ease of use.
These are the criteria used by millions of people to determine consumer purchases. They also happen to be the top priorities of a new government program meant to improve the tools and intelligence information available to U.S. warfighters.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research and development arm of the Pentagon, is developing technology that would incorporate Android smartphones strapped to an individual's forearm, head-mounted cameras, state-of-the-art sensors and a heads-up-display (HUD) to to improve battlefield readiness.
According to an agency release, the Pixel Network for Dynamic Visualization program, or PIXNET, will allow small combat units to detect and identify threats, and communicate that information with other team members and commanding officers at forward operating bases. Current technologies deployed in the field are of little benefit to anyone other than the individual user because they are not networked with similar equipment used by others in the field.
"Existing sensor technologies are a good jumping-off point, but PIXNET will require innovations to combine reflective and thermal bands for maximum visibility during the day or night, and then package this technology for maximum portability," said Nibir Dhar, program manager for PIXNET, in a statement. "What we really need are breakthroughs in aperture design, focal plane arrays, electronics, packaging and materials science. Success will be measured as the minimization of size, weight, power and cost of the system and the maximization of functionality."
In first-person shooter video games, players have the benefit of HUDs that help them identify enemy threats, nearby teammates and other resources. In real life, men and women serving in the American military don't have the same advantage … yet.
But, with the innovative thermal management technologies and methods of joining dissimilar metals that allow smartphones to be made smaller, lighter and more powerful every day, that could soon change.