GPS And Digital Maps Reveal The Way For Warfighters, Farmers, And The Sightless
Northrop Grumman has won a multi-million dollar contract to provide digital mapping
software for the Army - similar technology is being used in the farming industry
and to
help
blind
people
navigate.
DCLnews
reports.
THE SCENES have become familiar. U.S. soldiers moving on foot through the
featureless desert of Iraq. Stopping now and then to check their co-ordinates
on a portable Global Positioning System (GPS). And poring over digital maps
on ruggedized notebook-sized computers. What
needs to be done to navigate through enemy territory has not changed. But the
technology has - in a big way. Back in WWII, you would travel across the desert
using a compass, printed or hand-drawn maps, and the stars.
Now, satellites
orbiting high above take photos of the terrain below. These are then processed
and turned into digital maps that can be read on computers and handheld
devices. Unlike conventional maps, these "e-maps" can be zoomed in on to
pinpoint enemy positions or suitable places for cover. They also take a lot
of the guess-work out of the strategic and tactical planning that is done by
commanders.
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Digital mapping can now be found down on the farm. A new John Deere product
uses satellites in space and Global Positioning technology to put tractors
on "autopilot."
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One firm heavily involved in digital mapping is Northrop Grumman. In August,
it announced its Information Technology sector had been awarded a contract
by the Army to provide software for digital battlefield maps and topographic
information functions. The contract
has a potential value of $100 million over ten years.
"We will be helping the Army move towards next-generation terrain processing
and network-centric enterprise services," said James O'Neill, president of
the firm's TASC information technology sector. "We will continue to provide
leading-edge expertise in engineering and development of mapping and intelligence
systems for the warfighter."
Clear picture of the battlefield
Northrop Grumman will develop automated tactical systems that
analyze terrain and reproduce it graphically on computers and
handheld devices.
This will provide commanders with a clear picture of the battlefield and enemy
ground, allowing them to devise more finely-tuned strategies and reduce
casualties.
The firm will also provide the Army with flexibility
to deal with the sudden "surges" for topographic information that arise during
conflict. And it will
support migration to evolving warfighting operations, next-generation Department
of Defense architectures, and advanced terrain applications associated with
the Objective Force, a goal for the battle command structure.
More than ever, warfighting is about technology. Defense electronics got much
of the credit for winning the war in Iraq. Partly as a result, technology spending
will grow faster than the Pentagon's overall budget. Nearly 19% of total defense
spending in Financial Year 2004 is dedicated to electronics. The Government
Electronics & Information Technology association expects this to reach 19.6%
in 2012.
Helping the blind to see
Mapping terrain and the delivery of topographic data is an important part of the
modern military. But the technology is increasingly appearing in civilian contexts
too. Growing numbers of people who are visually impaired in the United States
are navigating the streets with laptop computers and digital maps.
New Zealand-based
firm Pulse Data International has created BrailleNote, a laptop computer
with Braille input and output and voice synthesis. In the first stage of
BrailleNote GPS,
a blind person can
get a reading of position by connecting a GPS receiver to their computer
and
running the
software. The second-stage software, still in beta-test mode, uses digital
maps to plan routes.
BrailleNote then tells the user which direction to go, how far, and when
to turn.
"You will get the situation where a blind person in, say, a taxi will
be able to use the BrailleNote to tell the driver how to get to a destination," said
Greg Thompson, international marketing manager for Pulse Data. "On
a bus, the computer will be able to tell a blind passenger when the bus is
approaching
a stop."
Auto industry
Not surprisingly, the automobile industry is also investing in
digital maps. Within the next ten years, say analysts, every new car will come
with
a computer-like screen mounted
on the
dash.
It
will
display
a navigation
system that uses a
global positioning satellite; plus onboard DVDs to provide directions, digital
maps
and information on hotels, hospitals, and restaurants.
Digital maps are also regarded as vitally important for e-commerce companies, since they can be used to manage product delivery to customers. Many city and state authorities are looking to create libraries of digital maps that the public could access on the Internet. These digital maps, when linked with municipal tax maps and data from federal and state agencies, would give municipalities and state agencies a powerful planning tool - color-coded maps that are easy to analyze. Within a few seconds, for example officials could produce a map of all the sewer lines that are within a certain distance of highways. Or police detectives could create a map showing all of the buildings that have been burglarized over a given period and during certain hours.
Down on the farm
Digital mapping can now be found down on the farm too. A new John Deere product uses satellites in space and Global Positioning technology to put tractors on "autopilot." Turn the system on and a small display lights up. Then, with no human steering, the tractor wheels magically line themselves up with the crop rows. "Excellent," said one farmer after giving the product a test drive. "It's less tiring because you're not having to be on top of it every single second." Accidents usually happen at the end of a long day, he added, so technology that lessens fatigue will improve safety.
Other benefits include creating maps of fields of crops, improving efficiency for inexperienced tractor drivers, and documenting crop movement from harvest to bin to user. It can also be used at night.
DCLnews Editorial
9.9.2003
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