http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/06/raytheon-jtacs-06-17-01-01.jpgThough you may think drones do all the fighting these days, actual soldiers on the ground are still largely used to call in airstrikes – all the better to visually confirm targets before the flyboys create a smoking crater. Though the army has toyed with smartphones and other means to connect soldiers, Raytheon has created a new JTACs (Joint Tactical Air Controller system) prototype for ground forces to let them separate friendlies from enemies and relay the information to strike forces. The system consists of a chest-worn computer, heads-up monocle viewer and wrist worn display, which together let the solider select a target merely by looking at it and pressing a button. They can also tag friendly forces the same way, or update situational information on the wrist display and relay that information to the rest of the team – including a fighter pilot in the air, who can instantly target the bad guy or avoid targeting his own team.
We tried the prototype ourselves in a limited, 2D environment, and without any setup, were able to select targets as red diamonds and friendly forces as amber squares. Everything we did was also displayed on another screen, since the soldier’s view, and his targeting, can instantly be relayed back to the base. Impressive as it was, however, the whole thing is merely a prototype for now – though that could eventually change, since it’s part of a larger system called AWARE, which Raytheon wants to eventually deploy. For a detailed explanation about how it works, check the video after the break.
Filed under: Wearables
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