A reverse flow is happening too and bringing benefits for everyday civilian users. Mobile phones are becoming more efficient, robust and reliable as they integrate military-standard technology.
The most obvious commercial benefit of military technology is used by every manufacturer, provider and owner of a smartphone - and it's truly out of this world! It is built into every location-based app and service. It is of course the use of GPS for location. Around the world, cell phone navigation relies on the network of geostationery satellites placed in orbit by the American and Russian military.
Continual improvements in GPS location have brought a degree of precision to mobile phone location that today matches the "down the hatch" accuracy of GPS-guided weapons during the first Gulf war. Other military legacies embodied in more and more new phones include longer battery life and resistance to bumps, falls and spills.
These additional benefits may be less dramatic than a rocket thundering into space with a nav satellite on its nose, but they add up to continually improving usability and reducing maintenance and replacement costs for smartphone owners.
Android marches onto the battlefield
Raytheon, a prominent provider of military and security equipment and solutions, has released the Raytheon Android Tactical System (RATS) to provide soldiers and commanders with battlefield intelligence. The company is currently in discussions with the US Army about the potential use of RATS, according to Mark Bigham, Raytheon's VP of business development for defense and civil missions solutions.
What makes RATS unusual is that it is an Android-based app for smartphones. Like many commercial LBS and GPS apps, it employs the smartphone's GPS, camera and other real-time capabilities. Unlike civilian smartphone apps, it is designed specifically for battlefield use.
Writing in InformationWeek, J. Nicholas Hoover comments: "The US military could use Google Android-powered phones and tablets on the battlefield to locate targets and stay clear of danger.
"The application lets them look at and annotate maps, communicate with and track fellow soldiers, take and send photos, and even watch streaming video from unmanned aerial vehicles."
Bigham says Raytheon built RATS to address a gap in the flow of information from military intelligence to soldiers in the field. Raytheon chose to exploit smartphones because they have become increasingly cheap and ubiquitous. It settled on Android 2.0 because of its open interfaces and standard software development kit (SDK). Bigham added that additional features of Android phones, such as accelerometers and touch screens, would appeal to soldiers.
The RATS mapping functionality shows the user where fellow soldiers are located. Touching a soldier's icon on the map or a buddy list brings up a contact dialogue that can be used to call or send a message, set up a teleconference or see the view through another soldier's phone camera. Photos taken with the phone can be geotagged and distributed.
Hoover writes: "By integrating the app with DCGS, military intelligence could find new uses in the battlefield. If a soldier were to capture an enemy combatant, for example, he could take a photo and send it to an intelligence analyst who may be able to positively identify that person based on available information." Raytheon is also developing Android apps to read licence plates and analyse biometric data.
RATS works through standard 3G cellular networks. Where 3G is not available, it could be connected to military radios.
Apple joins the army
Apple actually beat Android onto the battlefield, but not with a dedicated military smartphone or app. Even military personnel were sceptical about earlier reports, around April this year, that the US Army was issuing standard iPod Touch instruments for military use, but it has been happening since then.
Some months ago Benjamin Sutherland reported in Newsweek: "The future of networked warfare requires each soldier to be linked electronically to other troops as well as to weapons systems and intelligence sources. Making sense of the reams of data from satellites, drones and ground sensors cries out for a handheld device that is both versatile and easy to use. With their intuitive interfaces, Apple devices - the iPod Touch and, to a lesser extent, the iPhone - are becoming the handhelds of choice."
The US military broke with tradition by opting to use a commercial product for such a crucial military role. The reasoning was pragmatic - the iPod can get the job done, it's cheaper than the iPhone and typically very much cheaper than a dedicated military device. Soldiers know and like the iPod and it's easy for them to learn how to use the apps for it. Also, some of the apps the military is using or adapting are available free or cheaply from the iTunes store.
All it has taken to make the iPod Touch battlefield-ready was to sheath it in a protective casing.
"An iPod may be all that our soldiers need," said Lt Col Jim Ross, director of the Army's intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors operations in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.
Uses the military has found for the iPod Touch include translation, geotagging and geoidentification from a database, and even using the instrument's video functionality to win the hearts and minds of the locals. As Sutherland said: "Consider the impact of showing villagers a video message of a relaxed and respected local leader encouraging them to help root out insurgents."
Meanwhile the military is pursuing new uses and apps for its Apple handhelds.
- Next Wave Systems in Indiana is expected to release iPhone software that would enable a soldier to snap a picture of a street sign and receive intelligence uploaded by other soldiers
- The US Marine Corps is funding an app that would allow soldiers to upload photographs of detained suspects, along with written reports, into a biometric database for facial recognition
- The US Department of Defense is working on iPod software that would enable soldiers to display aerial video from drones and have teleconferences with intelligence agents halfway around the world
- Knight's Armament in Florida has developed BulletFlight, a ballistics calculator, for use by snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan
- US Army researchers aim to turn an iPod into a remote control for a bomb-disposal robot
- Vcommunicator, a new translation app, is now being issued to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It produces spoken and written translations of Arabic, Kurdish and two Afghan languages
The security issue
Issuing commercially based phones and apps for battlefield deployment is one thing. Troops taking their own phones into combat areas is another matter entirely. So many soldiers on active duty today own cell phones that it's becoming increasingly important to control how these private instruments are used.
For example, a captured soldier's personal phone may contain unauthorised information, photos and video that the captors could use. These might include data that could be interpreted to analyse the layout of a base or the positioning of military hardware. Even photos of a captured soldier's loved ones could be used against him psychologically.
The US military has yet to reach a final policy decision on this issue. A directive from the office of the US Army Chief of Information includes: "Army Information Assurance officials have reviewed the policy documents. So far, the only thing close is that commanders should not allow privately owned equipment into the field. We have policies restricting the use of private cell phones and PDAs from secure areas. Army IA officials are considering publishing a policy letter specifically addressing phones with cameras, microphones and email capabilities and to prohibit them completely."
On a lighter note, here's a quick riddle: Can an American sailor with a smartphone walk and talk at the same time?
The answer is yes, but only at the discretion of his commanding officer. Some are more relaxed about sailors talking on their mobiles while in uniform. Others insist the sailor must stand still. There are also CO's who follow a middle course, allowing off-duty underlings in uniform to use cell phones however they like "as long as it does not interfere with the proper rendering of military courtesies and honours."
Meeting military standards
The MIL-STD-810 test series approved by the US Department of Defense (DoD) is becoming a selling point for commercial phones. Samsung, Motorola and a number of other manufacturers offer military-grade instruments. These are likely to appeal to outdoors enthusiasts and others engaged in energetic or hazardous pursuits.
"Military standard" implies that the phone is extra-good at withstanding extremes of temperature and pressure, shock, rain, humidity, fungus, rust, dust and sand, leaks, vibrations and acceleration or deceleration.
It should also have added resistance against explosions or gunfire vibration, which most civilian users hope they won't encounter.
A word of caution - just because any instrument has been designed to military standards doesn't necessarily mean it will actually meet those standards. If it's really important that your phone should be as tough and durable as a military device, check that it has been tested, not just designed, to meet the standard.
In the future you can expect manufacturers to add more military features to smartphones, including protection for the devices. One such guardian is ion-mask, already used in many smartphones. A coating just nanometres thick, inside and on the outside of the phone, adds enormously to the waterproofing.
The Space Race gave us products like portable computers, Teflon coating for frying pans and ballpoint pens that can write upside down. The Mobile Phone Race is steadily delivering its own considerable technological side-benefits.
