Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Tactical Augmented Reality In The US Army

By Anthony Phillips


With technology being able to somehow simulate real life conditions in machines through what is known as augmented reality or AR, the US army has been making much advancements to their regular performance, giving the cadets a clearer overview of their battlefield in order to know where they are and where their enemies are. This type of technology makes use of tactical augmented reality or TAR, and has harvested much results.

When the TAR was created by the C5ISR Center US ARMY CCDC, the aim of the department was to make life for the soldiers easier. They aimed to make the senses of the soldiers sharper through technology. They also aimed to replace bulky equipment with compact, multipurpose ones.

Now, one of the main features of TAR, is that it has so many functions rolled into just one piece of equipment. One of those functions is a very strong GPS system that can accurately pinpoint coordinates to show the people in the battlefield. This enables the soldiers to know where their teammates are and the estimated locations of their enemies.

Aside from that, the TAR is also equipped with night vision goggles that allow one to see in the dark. The amazing thing about these goggles is that they are also connected to the locator enabling one to have a clear view of the battlefield even at night. It also allows one to locate enemy whereabouts in the dark just in case they are hiding.

Before the TAR was created, the cadets had to make use of a hand held device similar to a phone in order to control the GPS system. With this TAR system though, they do not need to do that anymore because their devices would already geo register their location automatically. The great part about it is that the locator is wirelessly connected to the headset and eyepiece so there will be no wires to wear the holders down.

Now, it may be a bit hard to imagine what the TAR looks like so here is an idea of the whole setup. It is actually an eyepiece and headset that is connected to a tablet without any wire. The TAR system is also connected to a thermal sight attached to a rifle. So without the need for any wires, a soldier has a complete battle set ready for any action.

Lastly, this system has the ability to share data with others that hold the same device. So if a soldier would want to send his or her location, whether visuals or coordinates to other soldiers on his or her team, it is possible with the TAR. That aspect aims to truly enhance the teamwork of the whole brigade.

This great invention is a revolutionary one for the US Army. In the age of technology, battlefield tactics must also be upgraded in order to better the performance of the soldiers and enable them with lighter equipment to make them more agile. With this rather new invention, it is possible to work better as a team, save up cost on those bulky equipment, move at a faster pace, and overall increase performance.




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