By Geoff Fein
Using technologies it has developed for other platforms. Raytheon [RTN] has developed a situational awareness application called “One Force Tracker” that leverages the technologies built into Apple‘s [APPL] iPhone and iPod Touch.
“This is really not new to us.,” Tushar Patel, director of advanced programs and technology at Raytheon’s network centric systems, told Defense Daily yesterday.
Raytheon has provided communications technologies and worked with apps, Patel noted.
“But in the past, we integrated other people’s apps and we’ve seen a lot of shortfalls where the solution is not perfect, it is not desirable,” he said. “So, now we’ve decided as an integrator of technologies, be it an iPhone with software, with the network, and bringing the security, brings tremendous capability.”
What Raytheon did, Patel added, was to provide Apple the ability to bring custom apps forward that are unique to Raytheon’s customers.
Much of this effort stems from a contract Raytheon received earlier this year from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency called the Mobile Ad hoc Interoperability Network GATEway (MAINGATE).
“It allows you to take different military, civil, coalition radios and collect them into a single network,” Patel said. “That enables us to provide a solution which utilizes technologies like iPhone. That is one of the key fundamental technologies that Apple was very fascinated by and enabled us to work with them to provide this software we just released.”
“One Force Tracker” leverages Apple’s rapidly growing mobile content and technologies, such as a compass, global positioning system, accelerometer, 3G networks, Wi-Fi and a multitouch screen, according to Raytheon. Raytheon has also designed other innovations for the iPhone including disruptive-tolerant networking, content-centric networking and augmented reality, incorporating security guards for tactical operations, the company added.
As a result of its acquisition of BBN Technologies, Raytheon has been able to leverage the tremendous amount of technology that BBN brings to add capabilities like iPhone solutions, Patel said.
One example is language translation, he added.
A person could speak into their iPhone in Farsi and the person they are speaking to would hear the conversation in English, Patel said.
“We are going to put that software capability into an app,” he added.
BBN also makes a shot detection technology called Boomerang. Raytheon has integrated that technology into its just released software so that now when a shot is fired, a soldier can determine where the shot came from on his or her iPhone’s graphic map, relative to their position, Patel said.
“Those technologies are enabled now…in front of us…and hence why we are pursuing it,” he said. “We see a lot of solutions we can provide capability around…for a number of things.”
According to Patel, the Army has a number of units it is testing and is providing feedback to the company.
“We have a great app we just released. It’s very powerful…there is so much capability. If we bring it to the battlefield or [provide it to a] civil force, they could start using it today,” he said. “What we are trying to do is enable a whole solution. That’s what we are ready to go do.”
Patel added, “if you look at this app and what it does, it fits in with what law enforcement and fighters are doing.
“Today [firefighters] have no way to know how many different firefighters are near their location, where the critical equipment is. All that can be enabled with a simple iPhone in their hand,” he said. “They can tell where the nearest firefighter they can communicate with is, they can [download] pictures from helicopters. It’s a powerful capability. We are talking to those agencies. For an affordable rugged product it brings you a lot of power.”