AFRL connects warfighters with intuitive battlefield technology

  • Published
  • By John Schutte
  • Human Effectiveness Directorate
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE --  In the spring of 2007, an Air Force joint tactical combat controller (JTAC) challenged researchers to quickly solve a nagging combat problem--he and his fellow warfighters needed a simple, lightweight, user-friendly cable to transfer target location information from their laser rangefinders to a computer when directing air strikes against enemy positions. 

About seven months later--light speed in military acquisition time--the Air Force Research Laboratory's Human Effectiveness Directorate (AFRL/RH) delivered a human-centered prototype design for the "Grabs-M" cable that is slimmer, lighter, more efficient and easier to use in the field than its predecessor. 

More importantly, it cuts precious seconds off the time needed to connect a wearable laptop PC to a handheld Mark VII laser rangefinder. To JTACs who control precision air attacks against enemy targets located near friendly troops, every second counts and efficiency is vital to mission success. 

That's why Air Force human effectiveness engineers responded rapidly to the cable request, using existing funds under the Battlefield Air Targeting Man Aided kNowledge (BATMAN) program. 

The emergence of universal serial bus (USB) technology on newer computers had made the legacy serial cable practically obsolete, according to project engineer Greg Burnett of AFRL/RH's Warfighter Interface Division (RHC).
 
And as the JTAC's toolkit was modernized--a rangefinder's digital coordinates go directly into software that calculates geographic locations on computer-generated maps--the bulky switch- activated cable that once published raw location coordinates to several devices aged into a battlefield burden, requiring additional adapters to connect with the JTAC's computer. 

"The predecessor cable had grown into a cumbersome cable over time," said Burnett. "What they wanted was only to transfer digital coordinates from a laser rangefinder to a computer." 

To compress development time, Burnett and fellow RHC engineer Robin Snyder designed a new cable, fabricated the prototype and tested it in-house rather than contracting for the work. They named it "Grabs-M" to describe its function of "grabbing" only the required digital data. 

Once the prototype design was set, they found Future Technology Devices International, Ltd., a United Kingdom-based manufacturer that specializes in converting older communications technology to universal serial bus (USB).
 
FTDI, which has a United States office in Oregon, ruggedized the design for military use, built a quantity of production cables and now lists the item as a product for direct purchase. 

The cable's plug-and-play capability makes setup quick and foolproof; users receive clear feedback that the "Grabs-M Mark VII USB cable is now plugged in," rather than seeing a list of generic cables from which to guess the correct one.
 
"We improved on the effectiveness of using the cable by just putting that very human-centric, accurate descriptor for the cable that's displayed to the user as he is configuring the system in the field," Burnett explained. "In combat, clear instructions and feedback are important. He can plug the cable in, he knows which cable it is, and he's ready to go." 

The Grabs-M cable is seven feet long compared to the old 14-foot cable; the design also reduces volume by 59 percent and weight by 75 percent, important factors to JTACS who may carry up to 150 pounds of gear onto the battlefield. 

There are also cost savings; the Air Force Special Operations Command pays about $17 each for the new cable, far less than the $500 to $1,000 price for cables that provide similar functions. A reusable military-style twist-lock connector costs an additional $50, Snyder said, and is stocked separately by the special operations units. 

"They crimp the military connector onto the new cable that already has USB on one end," Snyder said. "So they can also customize cable length, and if a cable gets damaged they can repair it." 

A goal of the BATMAN program is to continuously review and improve battlefield technology to make warfighters more effective, Burnett said. 

"Anything that the warfighter interfaces with, we want to look at it and make it easier for him to use," Burnett said. "We want to give him the peace of mind in the chaos of war that he can easily use the devices he needs to perform his job. They wanted an intuitive device and we gave it to them."