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The author:(作者)aaapublished in(发表于) 2014/8/12 2:40:52 Visiting United States military secrets Smartphone project，
Visiting United States military secrets-projects-smart ' phones, military smart phones-IT news Visiting United States military secrets smart-phone program
Some time ago I called the Pentagon's R&D sector, in Arlington, Virginia, but found himself in front of a run-down Mall entrance. My cell phone, Google Maps has clearly identified the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, United States Department of Defense Advanced research projects Agency).
By DARPA as headquarters ship-shaped building hiding behind the Ballston Common Mall. When I finally found the correct entry, enter the stairs, peripheral vision is not so strange--neat and clean lines of the walls, just like I've visited, like many technology companies. But metal detectors are not so common, without hesitation, my phone is the platform to "confiscation". Of course, unlike DAPRA, most technology companies don't make weapons, such as the powerful humanoid robot, or drone, fly out from the submarine.
DAPRA does much more than weapons. Once invented the Internet and made the United States technology entrepreneurial boom of government agencies more and more like a startup. In simple terms, DARPA is developing applied to battlefield of smartphones, so that soldiers can take full advantage of mobile technology benefits the countless ordinary people in recent years.
To the army, a case full of red tape and bureaucratic organizations, this is by no means an easy task. However, an agile team of developers and researchers have spent the past few years laid the Foundation for an application ecosystem, the project called "transformation applied (Transformative Apps, referred to as TransApp)", it is expected to change the way US military combat. You can think of it as a military-style app store, all the applications have been designed to have a high degree of security, and they are suitable for the environment without a stable network connection. It is much more difficult than it sounds.
Why the army needs smartphones
DARPA project manager accompanied by Doran Michels in the PR team got out of the elevator, his hands taking what appears to be his lunch. He has short hair, smiles bright, almost not stopped and shook my hand. He informed the security we are going outside to talk, I'm going back to my cell.
As head of the DARPA TransApp plans, Doran has been fighting front line consumer smart phone technology can be investigated on the battle scene. It's not easy, because most soldiers at the navigation works on the battlefield, still rely on radio and paper maps the size of bricks. But this is where challenges of Doran ready to spearhead.
Doran finished background, we've left the sweltering outside, into a strange Office. Don't know whether it was intentional, the sign says outside is definitely not "DARPA", but rather a three-letter abbreviation, I lost count. We went into a large conference room, there's a sentinel Dummies dressed in army fatigues. This is not a common uniforms is tied in the vests of a desert colored boxes, lunch boxes, but very thin. When I look at the stylus attached to the top, I know this is a Smartphone/Tablet grip.
Inside this special box containing a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, DARPA researchers later told me it was one of their favorite devices. With this box, the soldiers looked down at the screen while keeping both hands free when, and in the back there was sufficient for continuous operation of equipment a week of standby batteries – these are all custom made, except for the plastic blocks bearing the Samsung Logo.
"End-user equipment is an important part of the system as a whole", Doran explained, the Government tried to develop how the device is useless, when explaining this matter, his tone seems to be: try this in itself is a bit silly, because consumer market devices have been applied to the daily life of millions of people, soldiers, accustomed to using them. TransApp team can just figure out which equipment is best suited for which specific mission requirements, and, where necessary, make adjustments to the equipment.
Doran goes on to say: "we continue to buy different hardware devices, and put them in the oven, or put it under a magnifying glass to see the screen brightness," and so on, these experiments, even though Samsung R&D departments are also very rare. "We have to be highly dynamic, we need not give the owner with the same equipment, but all the equipment must be compatible with. "To this end, all devices are running a highly customized Android system.
The more we talk about Web technology, the idea flashed in my head more. For example, I've heard of Wave Radio Relay, but do not understand how it is being used by the military, establish secure mobile networks in Kandahar. Later, Doran show me a radio system, which can be attached to the unmanned flight and burst based on the location of terrorists. --Obviously, we went back to the public the details could not be learned. When the "confidential" when Word started to appear frequently, I realized that these technologies are not only used to protect soldiers in combat, some in order to more effectively kill ... ...
How to use the mobile app to win war
TransApp does not make iPhone project holographic images (too bad), but to provide a new set of strategic actions for the military solution, this need for a variety of different soldiers operating under extreme environment provides a variety of tools. In the past, because of security reasons, developing such a solution and application tool faces multiple layers of supervision, so fraught with difficulty.
Now, however, Doran consumer-grade solutions are being applied to the military in combat environments. If one of the soldiers or Government officials had any idea that can improve their efficiency, they were able to provide development to improve the efficiency of the application needed elements. Current TrasApp projects Fund has been to burn directly, so they are focused on creating a development application process, military and law enforcement agencies can turn their ideas into a mobile application.
Me in the Conference room when exposed to more team members, did not know what they are doing. Then we walked out of the room through a small bomb disposal robots, to the main Studio.
There, the huge green Android robot wall stickers on the background of more than 20 people deep in the code. In the corner, a tall boy wearing an Oculus Rift shake Western Swing East, looked like an old man who lost his glasses, he was actually developed for tank VR training modules. The other side, a young girl wearing a modified Google glasses, stare at her mouth mutter prayers of laptops (DARPA won't disclose what is the project she is developing). Which I never thought I would see in the mod scene.
"This Office looks more like an incubator. "I could not help but smiled and said to the people around him.
"This is the effect we want. "Accompanied by a researcher also replied with a smile.
"Yes, we do not intend to become a farm of production technologies, we will find a better solution. "Doran took the conversation said.
Then, Doran said in working but cumbersome process has to face. Zuckerberg could boldly encouraged his employees to break rules, Doran team development face many other restrictions. Smartphone for people hanging around the Office or Park is interesting and useful, but for the soldiers, but could mean extra weight and effort of dispersion, these factors must be taken into account that in fact they carry every gram of equipment are subject to precise calculations.
It also offers extremely high requirements to developers. Doran explained, "these development projects are to be used in the battlefield, most of them not being aimed the gun, their users have the experience. ”
Therefore, TrasApp developers will collaborate with real soldiers fighting to improve these applications. Developers also need to be involved in "the hunger games" type of real life scenario training, making them under extreme environmental testing application that you developed, though not a real battle, but this is definitely more exciting than the code.
Forces could use more mobile applications on the battlefield, but when DARPA researchers have excellent built new applications of eco-systems, TrasApp project will run out of funds. The army will take over the entire project, this means that the maintenance and improvement of these App's work would depend on the military, the army is likely to employ the same researchers continued to develop, or completely abandon the project. But Doran described the future, their work should be put to some use.
Life-saving mobile app
When we walk around the Office a ring, I finally had a chance to sit down and try a battlefield for smart phones. The whole experience better than I thought it would be familiar to many. This Samsung phone is the kind that you can always buy BestBuy. Although there are some changes at the bottom of this Android looks no different than other Android and all applications with fine icons.
Doran makes me click on maps, this map is the most important of all. It looks a bit like Google maps, but many more functions. In simple terms, the map like a platform, on which you can run a variety of plugins, drawn from the Task Scheduler to tracking the drone can be achieved. A related application is called TransHeat, is used to record the soldier's whereabouts, so that you can find out which routes have been explored and determined to be safe, which routes might be hiding dangers. Another application named PLI was used to avoid friendly fire accidentally, in the army is called "Blues track".
In these applications, an application called WhoDat caught my eye, Doran described it as "a soldier to collaborate on strategic map", but I think it's more of a war's version of Facebook, it keeps soldiers in front of the task or knows who his teammates are on the battlefield. Doran said: "you can use this app to post pictures and leave appropriate comments, allowing his comrades to know the distribution of their surroundings and enemies. You can also put them in the photo classified as friendly forces, the enemy, to clear objectives or the United Nations forces, and so on. "I don't know whether these photos are uploaded to a central database, but Doran's description should be.
In this piece of equipment used by the snipers on ballistic calculator, and a manual of arms and ammunition known as WAM, the Trip Ticket to track people and equipment, GammaPix for measuring radiation levels and so on. The most important thing is, where a large number of applications can be used from the network.
This time, I discovered that he has been taking to lunch to Doran has not, I have never met him devote their work to government employees. Then I heard Doran said he was in Afghanistan to collect feedback from soldiers using TransApp. I communicate with these young soldiers carried out a number of, most of them in their early 20, over the past five years put the Smartphone in your pocket, and then suddenly being told to go and get the "World War II-era" the radio service. Imagine when they found army sent to them is Samsung phones instead of radio would be excited.
Even taking into account the results of Doran and TransApp progress, United States Army in the foreseeable future is going to carry those bulky radio. But with plenty of army related requirements and the increasing demand for security, smart phones that will inevitably go to war. And see the army's continuous research and development of new technologies makes me very pleased, in the laboratory for the future in Washington, developers are in their technology and creativity to save lives on the battlefield.
DARPA felt a bit faint when I leave, it may be due to heat, or it might be because I just spent four hours talking about the war. Anyway, I could not find my way back home, so I put his hand in his pocket as you normally do, felt the cold comfort of mobile phones, open the Google Map to find his way home, and I've never had this feeling of being spoiled.
Writer Adam Clark Estes, original from Gizmodo.com.
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