Geospatial Gets Rugged

GEOSPATIAL GETS RUGGED



Manufacturers Develop Tools That are Small and Light Enough to be Carried
into the Field, And as Tough as the Men and Women Who Use Them.

by Erin Flynn Jay, MGT Correspondent

As geospatial technology plays an increasingly important role in all aspects of military operations, the tools of the trade need more than ever to be able to go wherever warfighters do. That means that GEOINT-optimized computers and related equipment must be small and light enough to be carried into the field, and as tough as the men and women who use them. A number of companies are working hard to meet the geospatial market’s needs for rugged and handheld equipment. MaxVision, Panasonic, Adapx, Handheld US and General Dynamics Itronix (GDItronix) are among those striving to develop products that meet or exceed the military’s geospatial requirements.

MaxVision deployable MaxPac workstations and MaxCube servers are used by geospatial analysts in war zones, disasters and remote areas where temperature, power and other environmental conditions severely impact COTS computers.

“These geospatial analysts deal with massive, complex datasets, requiring the highest CPU, graphics processing and I/O performance available, along with multiple display monitors,” said Bruce Imsand, president and chief executive officer of Maxvision, which offers rugged, portable computer workstations. “Furthermore, they need the units to be faulthardened, rapidly deployable and able to arrive at their new location working without a glitch. Today, analysts within the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency, Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force use our products to provide high resolution imagery for mission analysis and mission assessment.”

MaxVision’s portable MaxPac workstations and MaxCube servers use a unique box-in-box shock isolation design and support the full range of 0 to 50 degrees Celsius, running on 90-264 VAC at 47-400Hz or 28V DC. All models intended for geospatial operations feature integrated uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) including internal batteries that provide ten minutes of operation under full load to allow orderly shutdown. The UPS also ensures continued operation in the presence of dirty power and brownout conditions.

BAGHDAD FILTER

MaxVision’s unique “Baghdad Filter” system eliminates nearly all small particle dust with nearly no back pressure, while filtering all internal components.

For superior I/O throughput and reliability, the MaxPac X and XL workstations utilize an integrated high-performance RAID controller and internal subsystem supporting four removable SATA drives in a single four-bay removable magazine, which provides safe and fast removal of classified hard drives for transportation and safe keeping. Additionally, the MaxPac S, X and XL models support an additional TeraPac eight-drive fault-hardened external array that can coexist in the same harsh conditions, providing a maximum of 10 terabytes of storage on the MaxPac S, 12 terabytes for the X models and 32 terabytes for the XL. The integrated and hardened 17 inch (1280x1024), 19 inch (1280x1024), 20.1 inch (1600x1200) and 24 inch (1920x1200) LCD monitors lock securely in place against the chassis during transport or storage.

The MaxCube portable server is a high density ruggedized compute platform made for field deployment, supporting two Quad core Xeon processors and 24 GB of RAM. MaxCube servers often augment MaxPac workstations as a data imagery storage server with up to 32 terabytes of drive array storage using multiple TeraPacs. Imagery data can be accessed across the high-speed network with integrated dual Gigabit Ethernet controllers or by moving an entire TeraPac to a MaxPac external connection for even faster throughput, if configured appropriately. Because the volume and size of a MaxCube is so small, nine MaxCubes can be stacked into little more than 1 meter of desktop and take as little as a third of a cubic meter of volume. Maximum weight per cube is 45 pounds.

“We are working on products with advanced display technology, higher horsepower upgrades and completely new functionality, such as portable 3-D stereo capability and TEMPEST-class portable workstations,” said Imsand.

“Nearly 50 percent of all products sold are custom designs for specific critical jobs needing portable computing power. If you have needs that cannot be met that require features similar or beyond what is shown on the MaxVision Website, call and talk to our sales department,” he added. “They’ll work with our engineering prototype team to respond quickly to your request. Typical time to produce can be as short as 100 days for custom designs with volume requirements. Semi-custom designs for smaller quantities are done routinely.”

ULTRA MOBILITY

Panasonic Computer Solutions, manufacturer of Panasonic Toughbook mobile computers, recently announced the availability of the Panasonic Toughbook CF-U1, an ultra mobile PC (UMPC) that integrates the new low power Intel Atom processor in a rugged handheld computer for use in the field. With the introduction of the Toughbook CF-U1, remote workers are able to connect to critical information and applications in real time, thus improving organizational efficiency, increasing information accuracy and enabling field-based decision-making.

The CF-U1 integrates robust features previously only available on a full size Toughbook PC in a rugged UMPC form factor that can be used anywhere.

The form and functionality of the CF-U1 is a result of more than two years of feedback solicited by Panasonic from government and commercial organizations seeking to address the needs of a range of mobile users. Panasonic responded with a highly portable and durable device that offers integrated features such as an LCD touchscreen, solid state drive as well as an optional fingerprint scanner for user authentication.

Data capture is enabled using 1-D and 2-D barcode and RFID readers and a 2-megapixel digital camera. The Toughbook CF-U1 offers full-shift battery life, a sunlight viewable screen and seamless connectivity with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3-G mobile-broadband Internet connectivity, all within an extremely rugged package for maximum reliability.

“We aren’t as big as some of the other PC manufacturers that make their things in Taiwan and China,” said Peter Romness, national sales manager, Army for Panasonic. “We are a smaller company; we go out and talk to our customers and listen to what they want. As a result we come out with products. This U1 is smaller than your average dictionary. Inside of it are a lot of features that our customers asked us for. We sat down with military health programs and some programs at Fort Monmouth, and got their input.”

The U1 has some common military applications—Blue Force Tracker is an application that lets commanders on the battlefield know where their coalition forces are. “From what I’m hearing, we’re one of the only handheld PCs that it works very well on,” said Romness. “We’ve already tested Blue Force Tracker on the unit.

“The applications that we’ve seen interest in all have to do with something going on in a specific location, and then tagging whatever is going on with where it is,” Romness said. “An example would be forward troops that would want to take a picture of something and tag it with its location, time and date and send it back to the commanders.”

Romness added that U1 is the most rugged product that Panasonic has built. Over 100,000 Toughbooks have been sold to the military, with the majority of those being used in theater.

DATA COLLECTION

Adapx is a natural interface software company that helps teams improve collaboration, field data collection and decision-making with the Capturx line of software products. Capturx enables designs, maps and forms to be printed on ordinary paper and marked up with a digital pen, which digitizes the handwriting and integrates the data directly into Microsoft Office and leading GIS and CAD systems.

Geospatial teams can collect and share information more quickly and accurately with Capturx, and reach better decisions, without consuming valuable time and resources to collect and process data, developers say. Adapx partners with leading technology companies to create integrated solutions that work naturally with existing software and business processes.

“We don’t have any of our own applications; it’s part of our core go-to-market strategy—that strategy being that we don’t want to force the customer to change the way they’ve been doing business just because of our solution,” said Scott Lind, vice president of business development at Adapx. “In the geospatial world, we don’t have a GIS product. We have written software that enables ESRI to be able to do data collection with pen and paper from the same application, the same platform. We don’t change your hardware, software or your proven method of collecting data.”

“There are times, based on stress, situation, environment, mission and requirements, that a paper form, a paper map and fundamentally pen and paper is the best way to collect data,” said Lind, an Army veteran who served in Iraq. “The bulk of my time [in the Army] was with tactical units and solving the problems that I lived through in two decades in terms of tactical or field data collection. I wish I would have had Capturx.”

Regardless of the technology that Lind may have had access to, there were countless times during his service that he only reached for a notebook, a paper map, a reconnaissance form to collect his data. “The problem was that I had to re-key or have that data re-keyed into the system. That’s what we’ve eliminated with the Capturx solution—you can continue to mark on maps, collaborate on maps with many people on the hood of a truck, collect forms, go into a village and collect intelligence,” Lind said. “But now that process is digital; it’s collected in real time with a pen. All you have to do is go back to your operations center, dock the pen and in seconds all of that data is rekeyed back into the host application. We embrace the market leading applications such as Microsoft, AutoDesk and ESRI, and integrate those applications into the digital pen space.”

Military organizations using Capturx include a civil affairs organization, for data collection, and the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), the Army Corps of Engineers’ distributed research and development command. The Marine Corps is also evaluating Capturx, according to the company.

MILITARY STANDARDS

Handheld US recently introduced the rugged Algiz 13, a convertible notebook computer that users can use like a tablet or flip the screen for a more typical laptop configuration. It employs magnesium casing for extra protection, and it meets IP54 and MIL-STDAlgiz810F military standards for accidental drops, dust and water. It also operates in temperatures ranging from minus 4 to 122 degrees F.

“The Algiz 13 is going to be of interest to the military partly because it shares a lot of characteristics with another unit, the Panasonic Toughbook,” said Dale Kyle, president of Handheld US. “We’ve designed to compete directly with that unit.”

The Algiz line is new to the United States, but the Algiz 8 has been offered in Europe for a few years. The Algiz 13 features a powerful 1.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Merom ULV processor and up to 4 GB of DDR II 667 industrial grade RAM. It includes a shock-mounted 120 GB (up to 160 GB optional) 2.5-inch hard drive with G-sensor protection, and it runs either the Windows XP Tablet PC edition or Windows Vista Business operating system.

The Algiz 13’s multiple integrated wireless capabilities offer up to four simultaneous radio modems, WLAN 802.11 a/b/g, Bluetooth and optional WAN/GPRS, and a fully integrated GPS receiver, providing highly reliable connectivity across the range of wireless networks. Designed for expansive radio frequency coverage, it features internal antennas, and the magnesium case provides RF shielding and extensive RF noise filtering.

The Algiz 13 has a full keyboard that is dust and waterprotected. The 3.3 inch XGA (1280x800) TFT display is readable even in sunlight. It comes with built-in resistive touchscreen capability and an onscreen QWERTY soft keypad. The Li-ion battery runs up to six hours.

The company’s Nomad rugged handheld computer is also valuable for geospatial operations, Kyle said. The Nomad’s IP67 ruggedness means that users don’t have to worry about drops, extreme weather, dirt or rain. It also has a fast processor (806 MHz) and a sharp screen that is beneficial for processing lots of data or viewing maps with great clarity.

The two biggest features for the geospatial market would be the mapping and navigation aspects, Kyle added. “The Nomad and most of the Algiz line have an internal GPS; the other computer functionality allows them to be used in any kind of navigation or mapping application. The Nomad has been used to escort VIPs in Baghdad—using Nomad with classified maps of Baghdad and GPS to allow them to safely navigate the streets.”

CHANGING THE GAME

Rugged for fielddeployed personnel, Itronix’s GoBook MR-1 computer delivers durability, performance, multi-wireless capability and outdoor screen clarity in a compact form. The GoBook MR-1 notebook came on the market last year; it was designed to be an ultra portable, fully rugged, full computing platform. “We chose to go with a standard full function Intel Core Solo Processor along with up to one GHz of memory; the next generation module is going to go up to two,” said Tim Hill, product marketing manager for GDItronix.

With a clamshell design, the GoBook MR-1 has a complete keyboard designed around a PDA-type user environment. “It’s designed for the thumb typing. It can fit into a pants pocket of fatigues,” said Hill. “It only weighs two pounds. It can be equipped with everything from Bluetooth to a high-end GPS system, also with wide-area wireless and WiFi.”

Military special operations units have used the product. “It’s really changing the game with how some of these special operations are doing their job,” Hill said. “Before they had to carry a 5 and a half or 6 pound notebook in their backpack. Now they have something that is readily available strapped to their chest or in their fatigue pocket.”

Because the PC can have either a Windows XP or Vista operating system, Hill said, some of the military will use the GoBook MR-1 throughout their mission because it is a full computer. They can plan their mission, send updates and conclude the mission by sending in a final report.

The GoBook MR-1 has a six-hour battery life; the battery is swappable so personnel can change it in the field. “We gave it a standard touchscreen display, a proprietary designed display we call DynaVue. It’s the only technology with touchscreen that meets the mil standard 3009 for high ambient viewability,” Hill said.

Field operatives need a device they can see and use in the brightest of sunlight conditions. “This touch screen is the only one in the market that meets that military standard for high ambient light viewability.”

Highly durable, the GoBook MR-1 is designed to meet or exceed MIL-STD 810F for temperature and drop, as well as vibration testing. The unit is IP-54 rated for dust and humidity, making it suitable for use in harsh and unpredictable environments. GDItronix designed the notebook to be rugged from the inside out and meant to survive in rough environments. The unit features shock-mounted display and key internal components, and is housed in a magnesium alloy clamshell case with impact absorbing bumpers.

The GoBook MR-1 offers data and asset protection, with support for multiple user and network authentication options. Security features include a user-removable 40 GB or optional 80 GB shock mounted hard drive (with optional solid state hard drives in 16 GB and 32 GB), fingerprint reader, TPM 1.2, and file/folder locking capabilities. It also offers stealth-mode keyboard and display settings for secure environments, as well as configurable access to all input/ output devices for data transfer restriction and multiple asset protection features. ♦