Military

BAE Systems' BattleView 360 is made to raise situational awareness in tank crews

BAE Systems' BattleView 360 is made to raise situational awareness in tank crews
The BattleView 360 system has the potential to greatly heighten the awareness of mounted soldiers
The BattleView 360 system has the potential to greatly heighten the awareness of mounted soldiers
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The BattleView 360 system has the potential to greatly heighten the awareness of mounted soldiers
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The BattleView 360 system has the potential to greatly heighten the awareness of mounted soldiers
Image of the helmet-worn element of the interface
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Image of the helmet-worn element of the interface
Information is fed to the system by onboard sensors, as well as assets in the field
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Information is fed to the system by onboard sensors, as well as assets in the field
Example of the top-down touchscreen aspect of BattleView, which grants a wider strategic view of the combat area
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Example of the top-down touchscreen aspect of BattleView, which grants a wider strategic view of the combat area
Example of the top-down touchscreen aspect of BattleView, which grants a wider strategic view of the combat area
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Example of the top-down touchscreen aspect of BattleView, which grants a wider strategic view of the combat area
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BAE Systems is looking to solveone of the most restrictive elements with tank warfare through its BattleView 360 digital mapping system. The versatile technology willallow the crew of an armored vehicle to see through the metalconfines of their war machine, allowing for unprecedented levels ofcombat awareness for the crews of combat vehicles.

Maintaining a highlevel of situational awareness from the confines of a tank can't be aneasy task. Operators have to contend with excessive noise, and thelimited visibility that comes with being wrapped in a mobile fortressof ceramic and steel. Simply overcoming one of these impedimentscould give a force a significant advantage on the battlefield.

"BattleView 360builds on years of work across BAE Systems to improve situationalawareness and integrate information so that crew workload is reducedand they can make fast, yet effective, decisions," states PederSjölund, technology manager at BAE Systems Hägglunds, Sweden. "Theresult is increased battlefield effectiveness and survivability.”

The technology, whichstems from a system developed for use in advanced fighter planes,uses a touchscreen and helmet-mounted interface to visualize datacollected from a host of sensors on the hull of the vehicle, as wellas information fed by other assets in the field.

Example of the top-down touchscreen aspect of BattleView, which grants a wider strategic view of the combat area
Example of the top-down touchscreen aspect of BattleView, which grants a wider strategic view of the combat area

The head-worn elementof the interface syncs with external cameras, allowing operators toview the surrounding environment in standard and infrared conditions,while the touchscreen provides a wider view of theunfolding tactical situation, allowing the user to switchperspectives to the viewpoint of other crew members.

The BattleView 360system has the potential to significantly raise combat awareness,allowing users to determine an enemy's predicted field of view, andif direct line of sight is broken with an enemy, displaying thehostile's predicted field of movement. The system will also displaythe position of friendly units, hopefully creating an extra safetymeasure in terms of friendly fire, and allow for the plotting ofefficient vehicle and UAV routes.

BAE states that thesystem will be highly versatile and adaptable to a wide range ofmilitary assets. A demo unit has been installed on a CV90 trackedvehicle, for display at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition in London this week.

Source: BAE Systems

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Koolski
As a former tanker interested in technology, I have been aware of a large number of advances that would have made my job as a tank platoon leader/tank commander much easier. This seems to be a step in the right way. Integrated GPS; electronic maps; designating objects by location and type using a combination of your GPS location, orientation and the laser rangefinder with it being sent automatically to all the other tanks/vehicles in the unit; automatic targeting and prioritization based on projectile type and flight path as well as automatic threat detection and elimination (i.e. identifying an RPG that was fired at you and shooting it down) are all possible today. These are but a fraction of the possibilities.
That being said, I hope this is just a demonstrator project since I see that huge thing on the top as being very vulnerable. Let's hope the final version is much better integrated.