Rugged computers are a vital tool for soldiers. System manufacturers have highlighted a number of priorities that drive technological development, as military customers need devices that combine the ease of use of commercial products with the reliability and safety required by combat units.
There are many manufacturers of secure devices for the military in the world, some of them are well known in the civilian sphere as well. For example, Panasonic is developing a line of Toughbooks that includes laptops, tablets, 2-in-1 systems (a rugged laptop with a detachable screen that acts as a separate tablet) and handheld devices. According to Peter Thomas of Panasonic System Communications Europe, "Our systems have many customers in the military."
While different industries and business structures have many common needs, the military has a number of specific requirements. Thomas pointed to the need for a low failure rate that Panasonic intends to meet by keeping its own manufacturing process up-to-date and ensuring full traceability of a failure should it occur. He also noted the need for longer battery runtimes, as well as the advantage of hot-swappable batteries that can be replaced without shutting down the system.
In addition, Thomas noted that there is a need for sun-readable screens for the now popular LCD technology so that soldiers in the field can work with information. The screens of devices produced by the company also have modes of operation in rain and with gloves, that is, they distinguish a light blow of a finger from a raindrop or touch of a handle, for example.
Jackson White of Getac, a manufacturer of rugged devices including laptops, tablets, handhelds, and laptops, says civilian customers tend to operate their devices in a stable environment. In the defense sphere, on the contrary, "users move in a combat space and may find themselves in a variety of, sometimes extreme conditions that our devices must withstand." For example, a small tablet, after being worn by a soldier, can be installed on a drone or handed over to an infantryman standing behind a combat vehicle equipped with electronic warfare systems, that is, "the radio frequency resistance of the devices must be at the highest level."
The military uses protected devices in a variety of areas, from organizing warehouses to servicing vehicles and other platforms. This means that they have to be easily configured in order to "meet the special needs of the military user." However, there is also a lot in common with the commercial sphere and therefore it is possible to use some technologies developed for other industries in the defense sphere. White said Getac is actively exploring the potential of systems developed for the automotive industry for use in the defense sector.
Becoming mobile
One of the main goals of military users, as well as other operators, is to improve mobility, and this is seriously stimulating product development. For example, the new Toughbook range places particular emphasis on 2-in-1 plug-in devices that can be used like regular laptops or tablets while maintaining durability to meet various military standards.
“Panasonic is constantly striving to improve the computing power of very small devices,” Thomas said, noting that European military forces have appreciated the company's FZ-M1 tablet, which is as powerful as a good laptop. Military operators want such devices to work as efficiently as "wearable data terminals, essentially making them easier for soldiers to use with the same level of computing power."
While the military is still demanding more traditional laptop-style devices, Thomas noted that there is a clear shift towards devices such as tablets, as users want "access to the same data, but in a smaller, thinner form factor." Users are also showing interest in different operating systems, but the military is increasingly looking at Android devices. Panasonic recently launched two new products with this OS. These are the FZ-T1 and FZ-L1 models plus Complete Android Services and Security (COMPASS) to help military and other operators operate Android devices. “We are launching more Android products and are now seeing huge interest from the European armies in the opportunities that Android brings.”
Dell Rugged Chief Commercial Officer Umang Patel said "many countries are showing great interest in smaller, lighter devices, and the military wants them to remain as powerful and durable as they are today." These systems are expected to be able to operate under extreme conditions such as high vibration or extremely high and low temperatures. However, "while these limitations were and will be, expectations of what devices might be are definitely changing rapidly … we must ensure that the solutions we create will meet the needs of the next generation of soldiers."
There are a number of complex challenges in the development of products for the military. "Starting at the level of the individual soldier, you have problems in terms of how to wear these devices," said Patel. - What does a soldier who carries a duffel bag with all his equipment want? Not another heavy laptop. " As a result, there has been an increased interest in belts and shoulder straps, which make it possible to wear devices as an integral part of military equipment.
"When most people think of wearables, they think of watches and smart glasses and other such things, but in difficult combat conditions, many of our customers prefer to see wearable tablets for their soldiers."
More broadly, and not an individual user, then “it is communication technology that allows personnel to use computer devices in the field,” Patel said. Manufacturers such as Dell have focused on how to communicate with devices over a GPS network, cellular networks, or private networks. He added that Dell is focusing on improving device performance and is implementing a number of battery innovations that can, in particular, extend battery life.
Patel pointed out the safety and management issues of such devices in the field. "In many cases, their work is not just information technology - it is, for example, border control or peacekeeping." This means that mobile devices that are easy to manage and operate from an IT technology perspective are a priority for military customers.
"They want to use their resources as intelligently as possible, they don't want to spend their days and nights tweaking systems and downloading patches or installing programs, it's just a waste of precious time for them."
Dell has five rugged products in its portfolio: Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet; 2-in-1 Latitude 7214 Rugged Extreme; and three laptops: Latitude 7424 Rugged Extreme fully rugged and Latitude 5420 and 5424 Rugged semi-rugged systems.
While there is a trend towards smaller devices - which is getting stronger every day - the need for high-level capabilities in areas such as diagnostics (ensuring that infrastructure and systems are working as expected) remains predominant. However, it is important that smaller devices retain the ability to perform such operations.
As a consequence, there is growing interest in concepts such as the Internet of Things. By integrating sensors into the infrastructure and reading this data from tablets and laptops, it is possible to create systems that are very powerful in the aggregate of the network, the capabilities of which far exceed the capabilities of the individual devices that form the network. “Ultimately, the Internet of Things enables smarter infrastructure and smarter decision-making systems that will help transform mountains of data into something meaningful and useful.”
The appetite for tablets and smaller devices has become “much stronger, because even though they may not have all the connectivity that we have had in the past, many companies are actively working on how these devices work - connecting with other devices, collecting data, providing analytics and intelligence to their end users or IT management systems."
In the past, it has often happened that a tablet was using an application that was not intended for a mobile device. “In this case, the smaller form factor device might not work correctly with the application, that is, it could interfere with its use,” said White. However, the need to reduce the load on the soldier in order to improve his mobility remains one of the highest priorities. This means that such applications will increasingly be configured to be more tablet-friendly.
According to White, computer technology in defense often comes from the consumer world. "The pace of change can be much faster in the civilian arena, so we have to be very careful when introducing the latest technology … as it could actually turn out to be just another technological fad." Therefore, Getac has thought a lot about migrating their devices to the USB 3.0 port standard. They are taking a very close look at the latest trends in this area "to make sure that these particular protocols work correctly for a long period of time before we incorporate them into our devices."
White said the company is rolling out new technologies, such as wireless charging, not only to defense, but to other market segments as well. Such technologies may one day be "transferred to the defense sector as military systems require more and more energy and computing power."
Protected hardware and software
Thomas said Panasonic is committed to maintaining a high level of security in its products while at the same time making them as similar as possible to commercial systems. This approach, for example, was implemented in the development of the CF-54 Toughbook.
This is largely due to the wishes of the defense ministries, since soldiers are requesting systems similar to those with which they dealt in civilian life. Likewise, soldier feedback is driving the development of add-on devices for core products, such as removable solid state drives.
Of course, military users can work with sensitive data. If a device needs repair or maintenance, it is not always advisable to give removable disks along with the device on which such data is recorded, even if in encrypted form. Consequently, companies must offer the functionality of removable solid state drives, and Panasonic is currently exploring the possibility of implementing this technology in 2-in-1 plug-in devices. "The purpose of this is to give users mobility, but also give them the ability to work with sensitive data."
According to Patel, there are different levels of security for devices depending on the requirements of the task at hand. For example, in command-type operations where you need to use all the capabilities, including communications, you need fully rugged notebooks with the highest performance and reliability.
However, Patel noted that semi-rugged devices represent a kind of "gray zone" between fully rugged and commercial devices, which can be useful for soldiers who need mobile devices with a certain degree of protection. They are generally more functional than traditional commercial laptops, although they will cost more “for those customers who spend millions if not billions of dollars in technology, equipment, infrastructure, people, training, and more. "They need to be more careful about how they spend the funds and resources they have, however, semi-secure solutions may be more useful for certain tasks."
Data and hardware protection is very important for military operators. While this is generally not a direct concern of the equipment manufacturers, they nevertheless often collaborate with experts in the field who can provide similar systems and applications. Thomas said it could be either software encryption or hardware encryption (built into the hard drive itself), adding that while Panasonic “is an expert in the encryption that the UK Department of Defense uses and is fully aware of what these encryption systems should be, the reality is it is such that we do not manufacture or create our own encrypted products. In terms of hardware, the company's products are compatible with systems such as Viasat's Eclypt; she also works with software development organizations such as cybersecurity specialist Becrypt.
White said there is a lot of demand for mobile devices and there is a lot of work going on among military customers to explore the role of tablets in the defense arena, but there are concerns about securing data on tablets. “A small device can be easily lost and therefore it is important to make sure it has the correct level of encryption to store sensitive data. Getac is working with several cybersecurity professionals in this area."
Patel said Dell is committed to cybersecurity its products in line with current trends, with the goal of "ensuring that its devices are compatible with defense technology and innovation." While business units develop their own cyber defense offerings, Dell is not directly involved in the specification or overall development of some of the systems that are provided by third parties.
“While we are not directly involved in the development of the specifications for such devices, there is no doubt that we receive feedback and information from customers and integrators and other defense partners in order to ensure that our devices are ready as much as technology allows. security or next-generation encryption capabilities."
For example, according to Patel, Dell is seeing interest from military and other secure device customers in iris recognition and other identification solutions besides fingerprints or smart cards.
Patel noted that the concept of unlocking a phone using fingerprint authentication was relatively little known until recently, but will become the standard in phones and computers in the coming years. It is especially important to understand these security developments.
“This large-scale, generation-specific, paradigm shift in the use of devices is absolutely important, the level of security that we put into our systems must meet modern challenges. And the name of this game is simple - to stay one step ahead of the enemy."
Technological change
Dell has teamed up with Rugged Mobility and Precision Workstation to form a single group, in part to increase the overall focus on smarter systems, including areas such as augmented reality (adding imaginary objects to images of real-world objects, usually an informative). In addition, Patel said that the military and other customers of rugged products are paying more and more attention to the development of machine learning and advanced artificial intelligence systems, “as a result, we see systems on the horizon that can automatically detect faults and self-repair and regulate in the field. fly. Much of this technology is built into the hardware itself, for example, solid state drives are already capable of detecting read / write failures and isolating errors to prevent data loss.
“These very smart, almost neural networks (the core element of machine learning) are evolving. We see applications that cover everything from basic system reliability to monitoring external conditions, collecting data and providing advanced analytics to the person at the terminal looking for the best solutions."
Patel expects this to be a defining trend in secure systems in the next decade. As systems become more powerful and more tightly coupled, more information will be processed and analyzed on the fly, and decisions will be made at the machine level "even before the operator has a chance to sort out what's going on."
Thomas said that more emphasis is likely to be placed on mobility, moving from tablet technology to wearable systems that soldiers can carry on the front lines to “access critical data when needed without burdening themselves with a laptop or tablet-style device..
Panasonic has spent the past year exploring various investment options for similar solutions, proactively and in partnership with other companies; this process is taking place both at its Japanese headquarters and in Europe and elsewhere. "The goal is simple - to come up with some projects that, in our opinion, will offer military customers what they requested from us some time ago."
Panasonic's new wearable systems are expected to be based on Android technology, but the company also wants to implement some of its existing Windows-based technologies. She works with military customers to understand what new wearable technology systems need to be designed and how they will interact with other equipment that soldiers use, such as tactical programmable radios that automatically connect to various devices.
There is a lot to think about and decide, and technology needs to be developed in collaboration with different organizations, involving everyone from headquarters to the military and in-house development teams. Thomas said that Panasonic will release a number of wearable solutions in the near future.
White predicts significant developments in wireless technology in the coming years. Getac is in the early stages of exploring several technologies, especially wireless charging, in which the company is investing "heavily". He also sees customer support as an obvious and growing trend, and as such, Getac is developing embedded mobile device management so that customers can track and route predictable device or device issues to the control system. "We have already tested these opportunities in the civilian sphere and are currently thinking about how we can integrate this into the defense sphere."
Rugged laptops and other computing devices are now an essential tool for the military, combining commercial trends with the security and reliability required by the military. This applies to hardware, software, and operating systems. With the speed of development of commercial devices and the growing demand for wearable systems, in the coming years, manufacturers are likely to be forced to increasingly reckon with new realities, directing a lot of effort to meet the needs of the military.
