The Soldier is the Network

Roland Piquepaille writes "This article from InfoWorld says that "in the battle of the future, the helmet becomes a data retrieval device." It describes a scenario where soldiers are equipped with sensors and other networking equipment. "Each person is a network with routing capability to everyone else," says Peter Marcotullio, director of development at SRI International. This technology should be available in five years for the military, which probably means that we'll become networks ourselves ten years from now. Check this column for a summary. Please note that this article is part of a special report called "From the battlefield to the enterprise" which looks at why some key technologies -- deployed on a massive scale in Afghanistan and Iraq -- may hold promise for corporate IT."

Comments

I see some problems with this

[nemaispuke]

With DARPA and DoD's never ending penchant for technology to solve every problem, I see potential for numerous problems with the "wired soldier". DoD has a bandwidth problem now trying to control and get imagery from airborne Predator UAV's, what happens when you wire the individual soldier? Where is this bandwidth going to come from? Can this be subject to monitoring and how is it going to be secured? For that matter can it withstand an EMP pulse? If I wanted to take out communicating enemy forces using modern comm gear that is not hardened, a small tactical nuke would do just fine. And what about the possibility of interception even if it is secure? What if a unit that has a base unit to receive updates is captured, then parts of the system (or the whole system) is compromized. This will take years of testing before it ever becomes reality, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Re:I see some problems with this

[nemaispuke]

I am a twenty year veteran and I will give you an example of this "they have thought of this". In 1987 a certain aircraft carrier was participating in an operation called Earnest Will (reflagged Kuwaiti tankers). We had people from various Intelligence commands onboard and one of them forgot to mention the film one of these assets was going to be shooting. Since photo intelligence was a critical part of this operation don't you think it would be important to pass on pertinent information to those concerned?! The Photo Labs on an aircraft carrier have certain capabilities, and the people responsible for thinking these things up don't always know everything (or are told everything). That is usually the result of a four star Admiral to Captain conversation "Captain, get this done", response "Yes sir". Don't tell me "they have thought of everything" from personal experience I can tell you they haven't! So it's cool, so what. This isn't no Linux laptop we are talking about. Actual people are going to using this equipment to stay alive, I sure as Hell hope it works!

Bah!

[Greyfox]

Train your soldiers to rely on their eqipment and you'll end up with a bunch of soldiers who are useless when the eqipment fails. I'm not saying technology on the battlefield is bad, but your guys better have a back-up plan in case the enemy happens to have a HERF gun handy.

This is also why I'm against putting additional electronics in guns. Sure, a gun that self destructs if an identity check fails seems like a good idea, right up until someone loses an arm because the mechanism malfunctioned. Sometimes keeping it simple is still the best policy.

Re:Mesh Networking

[Mafiew]

I think the point of the article is that this technology already exists and it's the implementation that's really innovative. The challenge is making such a system practical for use on the battlefield so that a soldier isn't lugging around a couple of car batteries, a PC, bulky wireless equipment etc...

Re:Health concerns

[WIAKywbfatw]

Anybody knows if FCC has some advisories about wireless devices touching your body for long periods of time? A booklet I have (from my wireless router) states that "The FCC with its action in ET Docket 96-8 has adopted safety standard for human exposure to RF energy emitted: 1) Do not touch or move antennas while unit is transmitting or receiving."

You bring up a very good point. But, when has any military (US or otherwise) really cared about the long-term welfare of its soldiers?

Look at the evidence over the years: soldiers acting as guinea pigs during the post World War II atomic bomb tests, chemical stimulants used on US soldiers in Vietnam (and bromide tea given to troops in World War I), antitodes that have lead to serious side-effects being administered during the first Gulf War, who knows how many instances of post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.

It has been said that war is a continuation of politics by other means. Politicians aren't exactly reknowned for looking beyond the short-term, and the use (or, more accurately, misuse) of soldiers throughout the ages is fact, not fiction.

Re:Other tech from the battlefield to the enterpri

[Realistic_Dragon]

Designed especially for the American Law Enforcement user

providing the operator with sixty rounds of available firepower right on the weapon.

So American cops reguarly need to shoot 60 people without the inceonvenient delay of a reload? Blimey, it must be like living in a war zone over there.

Re:Other tech from the battlefield to the enterpri

[Cyberdyne]

So American cops reguarly need to shoot 60 people without the inceonvenient delay of a reload?

60 people? No. Try to stop a car by shooting out the tires/engine? Yes. Also, remember "law enforcement" covers SWAT teams; using 3-round bursts, this will give you 20 pulls of the trigger before it needs to be reloaded. Still a bit excessive for most situations - but better to have too many rounds than to be first into a drug den, and be up against 11 people with only enough to take out 10...

Blimey, it must be like living in a war zone over there.

Not from what I've seen - and no, the police don't carry these things on patrol! They just have a lot of stuff "just in case", for dealing with really serious problems. Everything from adapted tanks for breaking down doors, to helicopters for chasing getaway cars without endangering other traffic.

Re:A fat lot of good..

[Christopher Thomas]

Nowadays EMP protection is not a big problem in military environment - the "faraday's cage" is simple and effective enough.

A faraday cage around a radio is pretty pointless, as it prevents your radio from transmitting or receiving.

Any break in the shield allows leaks. Any antenna penetrating the shield acts as a waveguide - you might as well not have the shield in the first place if you do this.

EMP hardening for transceivers is done by making them able to tolerate large induced currents in the antennas. There will always be a point at which this ceases to work well (you try to make it past the point where it's no longer worth lobbing EMP bombs around).

Re:Other tech from the battlefield to the enterpri

[IvyMike]

Here in the US, we're pretty generous with our "bullet to person" ratio, so 60 bullets does not imply anywhere close to 60 people. I mean, seriously, even when running with the counterstrike cheats, nobody's that good.

P.S. Last time I was in England, we couldn't find a trash can anywhere. They had mostly been removed because of the possiblity that someone would leave a bomb in one. How's that war zone thing going with you guys?

Re:Tech Overkill

[SharpFang]

1. "Retreat NOW, they try to surround us".
2. "Red markers on your HUD are the enemy positions. Blue are ours."
3. With current wind and angle, your grenade launcher will reach THIS point."
4."Friendly fireline comes through here. Stay cautious"
5. "A friendly soldier wants to walk past your fireline. Cease fire for 10 seconds"
6. "Red marks enemy positions behind the wall as seen from friendly camera"
(think WallCheat in counterstrike)
7. "Nearest medic: 300m North ( --->that direction)"
8. Map with all positions marked.
9. "SOS, they are two steps away from my foxhole and my gun has jammed, but they don't see me yet!"
10. "The 2000 pound bomb will fall here: X"

Aww, that sight "+300" rising over enemy's corpse and score counter running up by 300, what could possibly encourage you to fight more effectively?!