More TechFest "Toys"............

[buglerbilly]

An exhibitor presents the "silent sound" device, a new technology that transforms lip movements into a computer-generated voice for the listener at the other end of the phone. Photo: AFP

Military application - "talk" without making a sound in CQB combat conditions.........


A fair hostess presents the Android-based Acer Liquid A1. Photo: AFP

Review here: -

http://www.myhphone.com/review/acer-liquid-a1-review/

Military application - where much of Military comms and tools interfaces are going, small smart phones


A Lightweight EEG helmet, which detects cerebral activity levels for example the Alpha activity, which measures the relaxation degree of a person. Photo: AFP

Military application - Lightweight Brain Scanner for use on injured personnel particularly after IED explosions and their aftermath..........


An exhibitor presents an AIPTEK T30 pico projector for iPod and iPhone. Photo: AFP

Military application - see comments above on increasing use of smart phones..........use the camera & video when on Recon, Patrol or Interrogation then download or present to the Boss.............


An exhibitor presents the "Cinemizer Plus", a pair of video glasses produced by Carl Zeiss, which, when connected to a smartphone or iPod, gives the viewer the impression of watching a screen of 115 centimeters. Photo: AFP

Military application - Hell of way to present Patrol, Attack or Combat instructions!


A visitor controls a multimedia system by the movement of his hand. Photo: AFP

Military application - Again Remote Ops for Medical and/or EOD reasons plus heaps of other Remote tasks............

[buglerbilly]

US Army plans smart phone trials

By Daniel Wasserbly, Janes

04 March 2010

The US Army plans to field a group of soldiers with touchscreen smart phones to evaluate their usefulness for training purposes and possibly for tactical use.

"We're going to outfit about 200 soldiers in a brigade this year with an iPhone-like device, probably an Android [phone]," Major General Keith Walker, director of the army's Future Force Integration Directorate (FFID), told reporters on 1 March.

The devices are being developed for the service's Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications (CSDA) project and resemble a touchscreen iPhone or Android, but several hardware and software solutions are still being evaluated.

Soldiers will be able to use the devices to access applications or for communications over an internal network, said Gen Walker. Troops will not be able to call home on the devices.

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Copyright © IHS (Global) Limited, 2010

[buglerbilly]

Army, Apple meet to discuss hand-held solutions for Soldiers

Mar 22, 2010

By Edric Thompson, CERDEC Public Affairs


Photo credit C. Todd Lopez

The Army's research and development command is evaluating commercial handheld solutions such as iPad, iPhone, iPod, iMac, and MacBook platforms. Within RDECOM, CERDEC has developed numerous handheld command and control solutions and is supporting the development and transition of MilSpace, a combined planning and social networking environment. Related Links

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Leaders from the Army's technology command visited Apple, Inc. here to discuss the use of Apple products in Army business and battlefield operations.

Maj. Gen. Nick Justice, Research, Development and Engineering Command commanding general and key members of his staff traveled to Apple headquarters March 5.

Apple officials gave the Army group tours of its laboratories and other facilities and talked about some examples of where the military is already using Apple technology. The Army's research and development command is evaluating commercial hand-held solutions such as iPad, iPhone, iPod, iMac, and MacBook platforms.

"The Army is moving away from big-green-box solutions and toward those that will adapt along with our warfighters on the battlefield," Justice said.

Justice said the Army recognized the billions of dollars invested by industry to develop its devices.

"We're continuing to leverage commercial technology for battlefield uses; we can't ignore that kind of existing knowledge," he said. "Our job, as stewards of the taxpayer's dollar, is to adopt and adapt appropriate commercial technology and offer the best possible solution to the warfighter."

The meeting was part of the Army's efforts to support "Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications," an initiative to demonstrate the technical capabilities of hand-held devices and applications to the Army and gathering warfighter. The working group is tasked with looking at how commercial cellular technology - including devices, applications and networks - could be utilized in a tactical environment.

The RDECOM communication and electronics center advises on applications and new equipment training and support application delivery to pilot programs in its role as the lead for CSDA applications development.

Within RDECOM, the Communications-Electronics Research and Development Center has developed numerous handheld command and control solutions and is supporting the development and transition of two iPhone applications: COIN Collector, a counter-insurgency information collection tool, and MilSpace, a combined planning and social networking environment.

The Army's official science and technology blog, Army Technology Live, released a public iPhone application last month. The app puts Army technology news, updates and media, such as images and video, in one location. The Army Technology Live iPhone application is available as a free download from the Apple iTunes Store.

"Apple technologies offer unique and proven solutions with intuitive designs that allow users to learn quickly without a training manual," said Ron Szymanski, CERDEC's lead computer scientist on the project. "The Army would like to leverage Apple's experience when designing military applications."

Engaging companies such as Apple allows the Army research and development community to leverage commercial business models as well, said Dr. Gerardo J. Melendez, director, CERDEC Command and Control Directorate.

"As we push to develop more commercial capabilities to meet Army information and knowledge management needs, it's important that we engage companies such as Apple because we stand to benefit just as much from their lessons learned and best practices," Melendez said. "Eliminating unnecessary processes or degrees of trial and error can only help us as we transition applications that can be deployed to numerous tactical levels throughout the Army."

The meeting ended with plans for future technical discussions between the organizations.