The Pentagon is rushing into service in Iraq a pair of technologies developed under its advanced research arm: a Humvee-mounted sensor for pinpointing hostile gunfire and a "command post of the future" designed to cut down on combat leaders' travel and streamline decision-making.
On DARPA's new Humvee sensor:
The sniper detector, named "Boomerang" and developed by BBN Technologies Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., is all about diluting the element of surprise in urban ambushes.
Sensors atop an aluminum pole on the back of a Humvee pick up supersonic shockwaves to give an approximate location of gunfire, and soundwaves measured from the muzzle blast narrow it some more.
A cigarette box-sized display on the dashboard or windshield then shows the findings. "Incoming, 5 o'clock," says a speaker inside the box.
The new command post system reminds me of the Combat Information Center aboard US ships, with a boost from 21st Century advances:
New computer systems designed to streamline the command bureaucracy -- letting senior officers collaborate in real time with visual tools -- will get tested in the field by the 1st Cavalry Division, which will take 50 such computer banks to Iraq in about a month. Half will go in the division's Baghdad headquarters while the rest are sprinkled at eight command posts in the area. All will be connected by one overarching wireless network.
Each bank of computers has three screens: one for the user's own work, one for 3-D simulated battlefields and a third to peer into what's happening on other systems throughout the city. Commanders will also be able to talk to each other using voice over Internet technology.
And there's more stuff coming:
Special Operations forces recently tried a handheld vacuum chamber that sucks heat from the body, much like a radiator does for an automobile. They hit the treadmill in a 95-degree room at a Stanford University lab, saddled with backpacks. During breaks, they stuck their hands in the bubble-shaped vacuum, developed by Avacore Technologies Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif.
The Special Operations Command was encouraged enough by the results to ask for more devices, which they will test on their own, said Dr. Brett Giroir, deputy director of DARPA's defense sciences office. DARPA's next step is designing a body cooler small enough to fit inside a soldier's boot.
It's great that DARPA is working on bringing technology advances down to the personal level.
