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.
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