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19 Oct 05. BAE Develops FAST Waveform for Existing Aircraft. The U.S. military could be closer to having an Internet fighter — with legacy aircraft such as F-15s — thanks to a new waveform being developed by BAE Systems. The company is developing Flexible Access Secure Transfer (FAST), a waveform with capabilities like those of Link 16 — except that FAST is more flexible, Peter Tufano, BAE’s vice president of engineering for communication, navigation, identification and reconnaissance, told Milcom 2005 conference attendees here Oct. 19. FAST will bring legacy aircraft into the modern age with Internet protocol connectivity, Tufano said. The system is scheduled to be test-flown on F-15s in February, he added. (Source: Defense News)
18 Oct 05. US troops may soon have a more comprehensive and timely view of information critical to the medical support of deployed forces, thanks to VoxGen, the British speech recognition expert. The company has won a contract from Akimeka LLC, a US developer of medical applications and information displays for situational awareness. The project is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, which constantly seeks cutting-edge science and technology for the defence domain. Its current focus is on improving the dissemination of timely and accurate information and, therefore it has selected Akimeka and VoxGen to drive the project. Akimeka is developing a system for medical surveillance and status reporting of deployed medical units. Under the terms of the agreement, VoxGen will be developing a prototype of a multimodal solution for integrating speech with the standard keyboard and mouse interfaces of the situational awareness application. The prototype solution also introduces voice-automated reports and alerts that allow deployed medical personnel, with no access to computer terminals, to send and receive vital information that can then be made instantly available on the system. As a result, commanders are able to view a more comprehensive, timely picture of the on-ground situation.
20 Jul 05. A new technology developed by Battelle and Oak Ridge National Laboratory improves the speed, safety and cost of finding unexploded munitions. This technology allows technicians searching for unexploded ordnance to fly over large areas, instead of walking or driving, to perform manual–and risky–inspections. The issue of unexploded ordnance looms large for military bases and former training sites that must be cleaned up before being put to other uses. The technology is based on mining and mineral exploration principles and uses magnetic field systems and a type of global positioning system to provide data analysis, digital maps, and target lists within hours. Mounted on a commercial helicopter via a fixed boom, the system can survey a width of about 40 feet while flying three to six meters off the ground. The technology originally was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is managed by UT-Battelle, a limited liability company consisting of the University of Tennessee and Battelle. In 2005, the technology was transferred to Battelle and currently is being used on behalf of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard. Battelle has conducted more than two dozen successful surveys for the military.