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ROCKY DB6-Smallest, Fully Rugged, Handheld with Windows 7/Linux

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Los Angeles, CA (April 28, 2011) American Reliance, Inc. (AMREL) announced the launch of the ROCKY DB6 — the smallest, fully rugged handheld that can support standard Windows 7 and Linux Operating Systems (OS). Certified by independent parties to meet military standards for ruggedness, this compact handheld weighs less than two pounds.DB6 Angle resized 600

“The military is pushing the envelope of connectivity out to the front lines,” explains Ron McMahan, AMREL’s VP of Sales. “They want ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Recognizance) data in the hands of the warfighter. This has created a need for a computer that can transmit large encrypted files in real time, operate in harsh combat conditions, and is small enough to fit into a cargo pants pocket. The DB6 is that computer.”

The key to the DB6 is the Intel® Atom™ Processor. More powerful than typical PDA processors, it consumes very little energy.  Consequently, the lightweight DB6 can run the same OS and applications as a laptop, but with significantly longer battery life.  This reduces logistical burdens in the battlefield and eliminates the need to modify standard programming for mobile devices. Read more

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What is “MIL-STD 810”?

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The primary purpose of MIL-STD 810 is for “…generating  confidence in the environmental worthiness and overall durability of materiel system design”(U.S. Army Developmental Test Command (DTC)). This standard establishes specifications and testing procedures for resistance to rain, shock, vibration, dust, humidity, salt fog, and extreme temperatures. 810

Some think of 810 as “the” rugged standard, which of course, is not true. Many other standards come into play, such as MIL-STD 461 for electromagnetic emissions or the Navy’s MIL-S-901D for equipment mounted on US ships.

MIL-STD 810 is sufficiently complex and multivariable, that it may be more appropriate to think of it as a set of environmental standards, rather than a single specification. This is especially true when evaluating compliance. It is quite common for commercial companies to claim that their product “meets” MIL-STD 810, when actually it only meets a small fraction of the specifications. Read more

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Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference 2011 Report

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Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference 2011 Report

GRCC 2011

Mike Castillo, AMREL’s Senior Architect for Robot Applications, just came back from the Ground Robot Capabilities Conference with all sorts of news.

“Research and development is out,” he reported. “Budget priorities have changed. DoD wants existing technologies with a small form factor that’s light and available right now.”

This news made AMREL happy since our product line is mature and even our new solutions are based on proven technologies. For example, at the conference, we successfully demonstrated our new payload controller. Based on the battlefield-tested Flexpedient technology, this payload solution is the first one with interoperable capabilities.

Future blog posts will feature more news about this year’s conference, our new payload controller, as well as other new AMREL solutions.

For more information about Flexpedient and interoperable solutions, watch the video on the Flexpedient  page.

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AMREL at Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference

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AMREL at the Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference
March 22 – 24, 2011 – Orlando, Florida – Booth #112

GRCC_image-resized-600

Flexpedient® Technology now extends existing radio modules’

capabilities to both our OCUs AND payload controllers

 

Come see AMREL’s latest platforms, including:

  • New 986 series laptops with standard Flexpedient device bays
  • Atom-based handheld computers & OCUs
  • Up-to-minute OCU form factors

To find out about AMREL’s hospitality suite, contact Mike Castillo at:

Office: (626) 443-681, ext 190

Cell: (626) 482-8791

Email: michaelc@amrel.com

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Connecting “The Last Tactical Mile” with Mature Technology

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In a recent posting (Network-centric Warfare: Dead or Alive ?), I wrote about the debate concerning network-centric warfare.  In the wake of the “reorganization” and outright elimination of high-profile initiatives and programs associated with network-centric warfare, Defense vendors are anxiously wondering if it LTM 1will persist as a central doctrine for transforming the military.

Clearly, the military’s obsession with connectivity is far from over.  DARPA is actively working to overcome the military’s traditional anxiety about the security of distributed servers (Pentagon Looks to Militarize the Cloud).  The Army is running a contest for mobile applications and talking about issuing smartphones to every soldier (A Smart Phone for Every Soldier?). Solutions are being displayed for sticking 3G cellular pods on a variety of vehicles, including UAVs (Forward Airborne Secure Transmissions and Communications). 

So the forces that spawned network-centric warfare are still active, but as I concluded in the above-referenced blog post, so are the problems that have frustrated its implementation. Here’s a partial list of obstacles

  1. Money
  2. Lack of interoperability
  3. Money
  4. Development and acquisition pipeline logjam
  5. Money

According to at least one analysis, the current cost-climate climate means “… that the personnel and procurement budgets will be reduced to pay for O&M costs…” (Defense Industry Daily). As the demand for novel technology grows, acquisition budgets shrink.  Defense wants the latest and greatest solutions, they want them now, and they want them to have a TRL level of 9 before they even see them. Government paying for research, testing, validation and verification?  That’s so 20th century.

      Using mature systems to develop advanced, useful solutions for today’s challenges is not impossible.  Working with strategic partners, AMREL has developed System One, a Last Tactical Mile solution, a system composed of entirely battle-proven technology.

      “The Last Tactical Mile” is a classic problem of network-centric warfare. Front-line troops are demanding real-time information. The days are over when data for C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) only went to the “back-end” (headquarters located away from the front).  However, getting this information into hands of the warfighter is a tremendous problem.

      To appreciate the complexities of “The Last Tactical Mile,” imagine a team of Marines attacking a high value target in littoral waters. They might be deployed on an amphibious assault vehicle (whatever replaces the now-canceled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle).  In theory, this scenario could require connectivity among a UAV, external ship sensors, satellite networks, the amphibious assault vehicle, mother ship personnel, and the strike team deployed.  Space is limited aboard the ships and all equipment must be ruggedized in order to withstand the harsh maritime and combat environments.

      System One leverages AMREL’s broad range of from-factors for mature computing platforms, which are more than rugged enough to withstand the brutal vibrations of the high-speed landing craft,  the corrosive conditions of the sea, as well as the violent realities of warfighting.  AMREL’s durable, battle-tested PDAs are ideal for the Marine strike team.  AMREL’s portable, rugged tablets could maintain communication with the amphibious assault vehicle’s coxswain as well as the mother ship’s onboard crew. Our fully functional 19/2® servers are1/4 the size of normal rack-mounted units, so they’re perfect for the cramped quarters of the assault vehicle. Designed to be flexible and to maximize connectivity, AMREL’s computers would have no problem tying the whole thing together with a MESH network.

      System One has already successfully demonstrated the connectivity and reliability required for such a scenario. It can be installed on any vehicle, land or sea. It would function perfectly in the high-speed Stiletto boat and is small enough to fit in even the most crowded MRAP vehicle. In fact, it’s so compact, it is even man-portable.

      An example of an advanced solution using mature, field-tested components, System One demonstrates that with careful strategic teaming and a bit of imagination, diminished government resources for research and testing can be leveraged into an opportunity.

      For a more detailed discussion of “The Last Tactical Mile” and System One, please see IDGA’s interview with Luke McKinney, an expert in military intelligence operations and joint mission analysis.

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      AMREL in Popular Science Magazine

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      Popular Science has an article about applications developed for military robots that may find use in the civilian world. One of the spotlighted applications utilizes an AMREL computing platform. Created for iRobot’s PackBot, it allows command and control of unmanned systems, even when there is interference by urban buildings. This customized solution is one of many that leverages the flexibility of AMREL’s computers. Check out “7 Military Robots, Now Modified for Your Living Room.”

      For more information about how AMREL computers are used for the PackBot, visit the “Deployed Solutions” section in our Robotics website.

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      Beyond the tweak: End-user communication solutions

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      Many people regard “end-user input” as something that happens at the end of a development process. However, the role of social media in the recent unrest in Middle East reminds us that end-users can be used for more than just “tweaking” solutions prepared by professionals.  Faced with government cut-off of networking services, organizers are finding ingenious ways of using communication platforms. More and more, “ordinary people” are demonstrating creativity in all stages of the solution-development process.

      Numerous examples of end-user resourcefulness are detailed in the Economist’s “Not just talk.” In developing countries, a cell-phone may be the only available computer, so people make the most of it.  Farmers look for the best market prices, consumers track fake drugs, students take English lessons, and the unemployed look for work.

      Cell-phones, especially smart phones, have also attracted the attention of the Defense establishment. While there has been formal research of smart phone applications, (The War App: Smart Phones Could Control Drone Camera discusses one of many efforts), the Defense community is also turning to end-users as a source of development.

      As reported in by IStrategyLabs in “Apps for the Army Winners – Doubling Our Expectations,” a contest open to soldiers and civilians employed by the US Army resulted in many useful mobile and web applications.  The success of this competition defied skepticism that said:

      “ · The Army is too big and slow to do something like this

      · Soldiers don’t know how to code

      · Soldiers don’t know anything about security

      · The apps will be low quality – leave the development to the pros

      · The process will kill any excitement in the program”

      In fact, “This program has taken the software development life-cycle down from an average of more than 1 year to roughly 90 days.  Soldiers are now empowered and incentivized to build solutions to their own problems rather than rely on outside actors to big them the tools they need.”

      The imagination of soldiers extends beyond communication solutions. Reputedly, the first armed robot used in theater was an ordinary IED-hunting Unmanned Ground Vehicle that had been jerry-rigged with weaponry by forward-placed soldiers. In NDIA’s  ‘Robot Army’ in Afghanistan Surges Past 2,000 Units,  Marine Corps Lt. Col. Dave Thompson, Project Manager for the Joint Project Office for Robotics systems (JPRO), indicated that soldiers are maintaining their inventiveness, “They are using them in ways we never expected.”

      Early input by end-users accelerates the development process and improves the quality for the delivered solution. AMREL is in the solutions business, so we constantly seek early input from end-users at the Robotics Rodeo, Tactical Network Topology (TNT) field experiments and other events.

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      Rugged computers on the flight line

      Long-lasting battery power, light weight, and good wireless connectivity are capabilities often demanded by forward-placed warfighters for their rugged computers. GCN’s (Government Computer News)  “Rugged Computing on the Aircraft Flight Line”  describes how these features are also critical for the maintenance of jets, an activity not usually associated with the front-lines.

      GCN does a good job of explaining how application requirements should drive the specs of a computer. For example, one Air Force base uses tablets with scanning capabilities, so that work control documents can be scanned while maintenance technicians were still on the aircraft. This saved time and increased productivity.

      Since AMREL does so much customization, we are accustomed to the kind of analysis displayed in the article, i.e. examining an application’s requirements to determine a computer’s specs.  For examples of fashioning a computer to an application’s needs, visit AMREL’s Customized Solutions.

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      AMREL Joins EDGE® Innovation Network

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      American Reliance, Inc. (AMREL) announced that it has joined the EDGE® Innovation Network, an initiative of industrial, academic, and government leaders that use cooperation to accelerate the delivery cycle of new capabilities to warfighters and first responders.

      AMREL is best known for its ROCKY line of rugged, mobile computers, trusted by warfighters for over 20 years.  AMREL has customized its ROCKY platforms for common robotic control, handheld multimodal biometrics, mobile mesh networks, hybrid off-grid energy systems, and battlefield medical applications.

      “Our involvement in the EDGE Network will be a win-win experience” explains Richard Lane, Vice President of Strategic Business Development. “This brings new opportunities to the company for collaboration, while allowing us to offer our expertise in rapid prototyping and customization of our rugged mobile computer line – as well as introducing our hybrid battlefield energy systems to the Defense and Public Safety industries.”

      Pete Palmer, EDGE Innovation Network director, said, “The EDGE bridges gaps between end-user needs and current capabilities by rapidly identifying, prototyping and promoting new solutions. By applying the EDGE process, the government can quickly and cost-effectively review innovative products that can be delivered to users within months rather than years.”

      Sponsored by General Dynamics C4 Systems, the EDGE has successfully delivered innovations including a Soldier Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Receiver to the U.S. Army. Currently, there are over 10 projects in development. Worldwide, there are currently six EDGE Innovation Centers and over 160 members.

      “AMREL participation in the EDGE Network is an expression of our basic business model,” says Mr. Lane. “We succeed in highly competitive fields by actively seeking feedback from end-users, and matching their needs to the latest innovations. Teaming with strategic partners to rapidly deploy ‘best of breed’ technologies is a familiar role for us.”

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      Welcome to AMREL’s new website!

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      Welcome to AMREL’s new website!

      AMREL has changed the look and structure of our website. In addition to easier navigation, we now have:

      Many of these changes were suggested by visitors like you.  If you have any other ideas about how we can improve our website, please email editor@amrel.com. 

      From time to time, check the AMREL blog for tips, useful information, and news.

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