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AUVSI North America – What’s the Buzz?

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What was the buzz at AUVSI North America conference, besides the UAVs being demonstrated?  I talked to many, many people at the show, trying to glean information for future blog postings as well as newsletters. It’s hard to generalize, but I did notice certain topics being frequently discussed on the exhibitor’s floor. For the purpose of this blog post I am excluding conversations at the seminars.


What happens in Las Vegas, stays permanently on your work record

A number of people commented that this year’s attendance and exhibits were smaller than last year’s (I don’t know if this is true; this is my first show).  I heard a rumor that the GSA scandal that occurred a few months back made Las Vegas a questionable destination for some participants. Read more

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AEODRS : The Future of UGVs

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The only fully funded military Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) program today is Advanced Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robot System (AEODRS).  There is a very real possibility that it will shape the future of all UGVs in the military.  If you intend to work on a UGV for the Department of Defense in the next 10 years, you should familiarize yourself with AEODRS. Read how AEODRS can affect you here.

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Recycling, Earth Day, COTS & National Security

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April 22 is Earth Day, a time in which we reflect on how our actions affect the environment.  These effects can be quite surprising, even dangerous.  For example, it probably never occurred to you that recycling computers could potentially hamper National Security.

To explain this bizarre chain of causality, let’s explain a few basics.  First, your computer is full of lead and lots of other nasty stuff. That’s why you are not supposed to just dump them the trash; decaying computers can pour a variety of toxins into landfills.  Secondly, your computer is full of gold and other valuable materials.  Computer disposal and recycling is a big business. You may have seen announcements, such as this one in the ARMY Times, offering cash or at least shipping costs for discarded electronics.  Computer and other electronics recycling have become standard features of church and other nonprofit fund drives. Read more

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Defense Tech Briefs spotlights the DB6

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AMREL’s handheld DB6 is on the cover of this month’s Defense Tech Briefs.  April’s issue’s featured article is “Improving Battlefield Connectivity for Dismounted Forces,” so it’s only natural that they would spotlight the smallest, rugged, handheld in the world that can run a full Windows OS.  Click here  to read about the search for the ideal front-line computing platform.

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Why are there more unmanned platforms than customers?

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Why are unmanned systems developers offering so many different kinds of platforms and ideas, when there is comparatively little demand by the civilian market? Why are there more offerings than customers?

These questions were raised in the Unmanned Systems group in LinkedIn. It provoked a number of insightful comments about the current state of unmanned systems and its future. If you are a member of LinkedIn, and can log in, you can read the discussion here. Read more

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What does Reversibility mean for the Defense industry?

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What does Reversibility mean for the Defense industry?  On January 5, the new U.S. Defense Strategic Guidance was released.  Much attention was paid to the following:

US Dept of defense“DoD will manage the force in ways that protect its ability to regenerate capabilities that might be needed to meet future, unforeseen demands, maintaining intellectual capital and rank structure that could be called upon to expand key elements of the force.”

This line of thinking can be described as “ reversibility, ” a buzzword that has assumed prominence among those vendors who are trying to navigate the planned drawdowns and future budget cuts.  “Reversibility” acknowledges the overwhelming historical evidence that we have a rotten track record of preparing for the next war, and we need to be able to change course as the situation warrants. Read more

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The Return of the Smartphone Security Issue

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As reported previously in this blog, the 2nd Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) appears to have successfully tested ARMY’s communication systems.  Not all the results were reassuring.  For example, there was some nasty feedback about the Nett Warrior.  Most surprising was that many warfighters claimed that they didn’t want or need a smartphone.  The ARMY’s smartphone program is threatened by other dangers as well. As noted in Wired, the smartphone could be a casualty of proposed Defense cuts. However, one of the most serious problems is the one that was identified in the earliest days of the program: security.

I haven’t heard too much about it from the ARMY recently, but some recent news items have raised the prominence of this issue: Read more

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Did the Smartphone give ARMY the JTRS?

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Recently the ARMY announced the cancellation of its current contract for the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Ground Mobile Radio System.  Did its highly publicized plans for a battlefield smartphone have something to it?

An uniformed person might think, “Sure, what does the ARMY need JTRS for, when they’re going for a smartphone?” Actually, the smartphone’s success depends on JTRS.

While security is usually described as the Number 1 concern for the battlefield phone, the lack of cellular service in potential combat zones has emerged as a major obstacle (Razorianfly).  Almost all the proposed solutions for dealing with connectivity are partial. Some of the more innovative solutions include installing cellular equipment on blimps, UAVs, and aerostats.  There’s even talk of a “cell tower in a suitcase.” Read more

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The Incredibly Shrinking UGV

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In the early days of the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars, US forces had no effective countermeasures against Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the single biggest cause of combat deaths. To fight the IED threat, our armed forces turned to Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV).

It’s hard to remember now, but UGVs barely existed 10 years ago. The Defense community abandoned the traditionally leisurely pace of decades-long weapons development and quickly flooded combat theaters with thousands of UGVs. In 2011, the world’s governments are projected to spend $702 million a year on UGVs.  Below is a chart comparing a few UGVs. Read more

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Will Future Battlefield Computers be Futuristic?

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futureRecently, some clients asked AMREL to build an Operator Control Unit (OCU) for their Unmanned Ground Vehicle.  No surprise there; we dominate that particular application.  What was noteworthy was the specific form factor that they requested.  They wanted it to be a wearable computer, worn on the wrist.

We ran a simple experiment with the clients.  We strapped a small computer to their wrist and had them run some typical UGV commands.  Soon, they discovered that their arms grew tired supporting the computer.  The clients agreed to have their OCU installed in the traditional, if less exotic, form factor of a handheld.

Notice that the wrist-mounted form factor wasn’t discarded for technological reasons. AMREL has become quite adept at developing small, powerful, ATOM-based computer platforms, which would be perfect for wearable solutions. Rather, this innovative approach was discarded, because the wrist form factor proved impractical for this particular use. Read more

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