711 HPW gear goes downrange for assessment

Master Sergeant Robert W. Bean, outfitted with more than 80 pounds of combat, communications and medical gear, prepares to embark on a mission in southern Afghanistan. His equipment includes a wearable computer and other technology developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Effectiveness Directorate—designed to reduce weight and increase U. S. warfighters’ efficiency in the field—which MSgt. Bean and fellow pararescue jumpers field-evaluated for application to their rescue-and-recovery mission. (Air Force photo)

711 HPW gear goes downrange for assessment

Air Force PJs Bring Battlefield Perspective to 711 HPW R&D

Published Oct. 9, 2009
By John Schutte
Directed Energy

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Newly developed Air Force Research Labora human performance technologies are receiving invaluable real-world feedback directly from the warfighter. Air Force Master Sergeant Robert Bean is a pararescue jumper (PJ), one of an elite corps of Airmen who are among the military's most highly trained emergency trauma and rescue specialists. He is working with researchers from the AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing's Human Effectiveness Directorate (711 HPW/RH) to evaluate battlefield communications, identification, and geolocation technologies--originally developed for joint terminal attack controllers (JTAC) and tactical air control party (TACP) Airmen (who coordinate aircraft strikes against enemy targets)--for possible application to the PJ rescue-and-recovery mission.

During his recent deployment to Afghanistan, MSgt Bean began serving as a test subject expert to assess several lab-developed capabilities: a [Special Operations Command] SOCOM-X tactical communications headset, a modified assault vest with integrated cables, an MR-1 wearable computer, low-profile cables with motion strain relief, and a FAST (Future Assault Shell Technology) helmet with integrated side rails for quick mounting of accessories such as video cameras and flashlights. MSgt Bean and his fellow PJs immediately liked the equipment--especially the helmet camera, which they used while recovering sensitive items from the wreckage of a downed helicopter. Their crash scene video became an important piece of the subsequent accident investigation.

The PJs gave the other technologies high marks as well. The SOCOM-X headset--created by Spear Labs via a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with 711 HPW/RH--effectively muffled gunfire yet allowed PJs to communicate clearly, hear important ambient sounds, and meanwhile retain audio directional perspective (i.e., cues). The PJ cohort saw the MR-1 computer's potential utility as well. While JTACs and TACPs use the miniature, wearable device to send strike coordinates for close air support, PJ missions could adapt the technology to send patient vital signs and other data to medical personnel located elsewhere (e.g., in a helicopter or field hospital). Further, the video camera and computer could transmit live streaming video--to a surgeon, for example. In critical situations where a patient's condition demands attention beyond the PJ realm of expertise, this media could facilitate a possibly lifesaving walkthrough of a surgical procedure.

The availability of input directly representing the warfighter perspective is invaluable for researchers pursuing real-world validation of newly developed technologies. The incorporation of this straightforward feedback into AFRL programs not only improves the capability, but delivers it much more quickly into the hands of those who most need it.