The DARPA Squad-X funding opportunity is very relevant for those with expertise in massive computation and data fusion, especially using distributed hardware with unreliable/high-latency connectivity (link).
White Papers are due August 4. For more information click here.
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DARPA’s Squad-X program aims to provide improved situational awareness to soldiers on the ground – think the helmet cams and heads-up displays of the space marines in the movie Aliens. This turns out to be a hard problem – Army’s Land Warrior program (http://www.army-technology.com/projects/land_warrior/) has been working on similar solutions for a couple of decades.
“Squad X will focus on filling the following information gaps for currently equipped infantry squads: integrated access and control of mobile sensors (to include full motion streaming video); a three-dimensional common operating picture; near real-time friendly locations; and near real-time threat locations. Squad X seeks to build an integrated system of systems to organically extend the squad’s awareness and influence. This topic will study the infrastructure and technologies necessary to build the Squad X system of systems.”
How is this effort different from Land Warrior? Not clear but there is one clue:
“Yet, even with the deployment of these advanced systems, the fielded infantry squad does not maintain overmatch over its adversaries on today’s battlefield. Adversaries can use modern electronics and communications technologies along with extensive local knowledge, which gives them an asymmetric advantage. Conversely, our squads conduct missions with situational awareness and lethal action limited by line of sight.”
Thus it seems that the concept of “situational awareness” is being broadened to include multiple levels of context, probably including terrain, known/suspected locations of enemy and friendly units.
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