SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION RUGGED COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERAL EQUIPMENT
Today’s war fighter not only needs bullets and full fuel tanks but now they also need computing capability with all-day power supplies in a much more portable package that can be carried into combat at all times.
while maintaining the same portable form factor and power requirement. Processor performance of the future multi-core solutions will be approaching current low-end Intel x86 based laptops at a fraction of the electrical power. Advances in battery power densities will continue to push the battery life of handheld devices towards an all-day continuous operation scenario. Multi-touch touch screen capabilities will become increasingly important to support touch and gesture based operating systems. While pushing towards better portability, today’s war fighters also need larger displays, higher processing and graphic capabilities while providing larger storage and more peripheral connections in rugged laptop solutions. Rugged laptops with the latest commercial and military I/O connectors are typically capable of operating within the MIL-STD 461 and MIL-STD 810 requirements, making them usable in almost any scenario. Sunlight-readable displays, coupled with advanced graphics processing capabilities, provide an ideal solution for mission planning, mapping or any other 3D graphic-intensive tasks. Moreover, future rugged laptops will continue the trend of higher performance by increasing the number of processor and graphic cores, at the same time maintaining equal or lower overall power envelope. We believe that future rugged laptop systems will be smaller and lighter, being driven largely by advances in materials and the shrinking of microprocessor technology and components. From a software perspective, Windows and Linux will continue to play a role in future rugged laptops. While rugged laptops have firmly established themselves as a proven weapon in the battlefield, rugged tablet computers provide a good compromise of size and peripheral support and performance. Tablet computers typically have higher processor performance than handhelds and PDA’s, but less processor performance than laptops.
Meeting the Insurgent Threat Head-on While we at VT Miltope have been on the forefront and pushing the envelope of how war fighters engage advisories, the insurgent war has moved the conflict from the traditional battlefield to city streets. This has resulted in the need for a soldierborne computing capability that is not only small and lightweight, but one that also provides computing capability for application processing. This capability is also focused on the convergence of multiple technologies such as miniaturized computing, military GPS capability and at least one military radio capability 4 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM
embedded in one device. No small task. The smaller the package needs to be, the bigger the challenge. VT Miltope has built a solid reputation by solving the toughest challenges for war fighters operating in the harshest environments. A good example of this convergence of technology is our Rugged Tactical Handheld Device- 2 (RTHD-2). This handheld computer hosts a Windows Mobile or Android operating system for running military application software used for a variety of purposes, in addition to secure military GPS and military communications with the Tactical Link or TacLink modem. In one small, rugged package, three of the most sought after capabilities are provided to the war fighter, meeting their computing, navigational and communication needs.
RTHD-2 – AN ULTRA-RUGGED LIGHT-WEIGHT HANDHELD COMPUTER
Another tool in the arsenal is the Maintenance Support Device or MSD. This is a rugged laptop computer created for the U.S. Army Program Manager, Maintenance and Diagnostic Equipment (PM TMDE) as a replacement for the SPORT rugged computer. Our MSD system includes a “Field Ready” (FR) configuration, which includes a MSD computer, external combination power adapter/charger, NATO power cable and other accessories, all packaged in a transit case. It not only enables comprehensive maintenance and diagnostic capabilities, but this configuration is utilized as an on-system test tool in support of all United States Army weapon platforms in the air and on the ground. In fact, the MSD program is one of the key digitization components of the US Army tactical infrastructure. The MSD allows maintenance and operations manuals to be transported and utilized electronically versus the need to maintain reams of paper and volumes of manuals at forward sites, repair depots and maintenance facilities. This is accomplished through the use and storage of Electronic Tech Manuals (ETM) and Interactive