Military

US Army's TAR head up display to give soldiers a tactical edge

US Army's TAR head up display to give soldiers a tactical edge
The TAR display is mounted on regular US Army helmets
The TAR display is mounted on regular US Army helmets
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The US Army has revealed its new head-up display system called Tactical Augmented Reality
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The US Army has revealed its new head-up display system called Tactical Augmented Reality
The TAR display is mounted on regular US Army helmets
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The TAR display is mounted on regular US Army helmets
A closer look at the small, high-definition display that has been developed
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A closer look at the small, high-definition display that has been developed
View gallery - 3 images

Information is power when a soldier is enveloped by the fog of war. Precisely locating the positions of both friends and foes is key for a mission to roll out both smoothly and without avoidable casualties. The US Army has just revealed its latest innovation, a head-up display system for soldiers called "Tactical Augmented Reality," or TAR.

The TAR system is a small, one-inch-by-one-inch (2.5 x 2.5 cm) eyepiece that is mounted on a soldier's helmet. The eyepiece overlays a map onto the soldier's field of vision, instantly offering target information and GPS-tracked data showing where the rest of their team is located.

The US Army has revealed its new head-up display system called Tactical Augmented Reality
The US Army has revealed its new head-up display system called Tactical Augmented Reality

Designed to replace a soldier's handheld GPS device, the TAR device is also wirelessly connected to a tablet worn on a soldier's waist, and to a thermal site mounted on the their rifle. This means additional data, such as an image of the target or the distance to a target, can be displayed through the eyepiece. This visual data can also be wirelessly sent to the eyepieces of other members of the team.

The TAR is similar to another head-up display being developed by BAE Systems called the Q-Warrior. That device, which has already been field tested by the US Army, is a little bulkier than this system from CERDEC.

A closer look at the small, high-definition display that has been developed
A closer look at the small, high-definition display that has been developed

The main challenge CERDEC faced in developing TAR was finding a way to miniaturize a high-definition image to fit on such a small eyepiece and couldn't be achieved with commercial, off-the-shelf hardware. They have successfully created high-definition monochrome units that are bright enough to be used in daylight, and development of full-color units are well underway.

Take a look at a simulation of the new TAR device in the video below.

Source: US Army

Tactical Augmented Reality

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Tommo
That movie had more cheese that a Camembert.....