The US Army is planning to hold desert trials of smartphones to see whether they would assist soldiers during combat. The Apple iPhone along with smartphones running Google's Android software will feature of variety of applications all designed for military use.
Possible uses for smartphones while in operation could be to stream video from a surveillance camera, download up-to-date information from a remote database or cloud location, or capitalise on GPS capabilities.
While the Army do not want to add unnecessary weight or bulk to a soldier's existing backpack or invest heavily in buying and developing relevant technology, smartphones could be easier to manage and update compared to current technology as well as enhancing a troop’s awareness of a certain situation.
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Michael McCarthy, one of the Army's project leaders said: “We want to give people the right phones for the right reasons, not just give them another shiny thing to hang on their equipment carriers.”
Smartphones have become renowned for a wide variety of applications with massive processing ability and the Army is looking to take advantage of these advances in technologies. Currently the Army is testing apps that assist the treatment of a soldier wounded in combat by identifying their exact location as well as filling in crucial personal information.
Another application called 'SoldierEyes', features a digital map and an augmented reality mode which enables the user to assess the horizon and battlefield.
