In order to increase situational awareness in the military, the Army recently consolidated multiple displays for finding explosive devices into a single touchscreen. Additionally, recent legislation focuses on next-generation vehicles: driverless and Web-enabled cars.
All this news and more in this week’s Federal News Roundup.
New Army Technology Will Combat Drones as IEDs
With drone technology integrating quickly into both ever day life and modern warfare, the Army has taken steps to pre-emptively address the issue of drones being used as improved explosive devices IEDs) according to a recent Army press release. Taking an existing program – C-RAM – that has used with great success to counter rocket, artillery, and mortar attacks, the Army adapted the principles to be able to detect drones that can literally fly under the radar.
Government Moves to Regulate Next-generation Vehicles
Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) recently presented a bill to Congress that aims to keep Web-enabled cars from being breached, according to The Washington Post.
Known as the SPY Car Act, the bill would require specific commitments from vehicle manufacturers who want to build driverless or Internet-included cars.
U.S. Prepares to Stabilize its Presence in the Realm of Space
The U.S. government has entered the final frontier in efforts to bolster national defense. To counter potential threats from adversaries like China or Russia, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work recently announced the creation of the China Aerospace Studies Institute, or CASI, according to Defense Systems.
Secretary Work said during the GEOINT 2015 Symposium in Washington this center will assist and contribute to safeguarding the nation’s interests.
Army Consolidates Multiple Monitoring Displays into Single Touchscreen
Soldiers working in complex and highly volatile environments like the Medium Mine Protected Vehicles program found that they were constantly switching between displays from monitoring image sensors and weapons systems to communications equipment. It was found that frequent changing between screens created information overload and critical distractions in a job that requires ultimate focus and concentration. To alleviate information overload and enhance user performance, the Army created a new single touchscreen system that eliminates the need to search through separate displays according to GCN.
