Augmented reality (AR) transforms military operations by merging digital information with the physical world, providing service members with real-time guidance, instructions, and mission-critical data. This mixed reality environment enhances situational awareness by simulating combat scenarios, collaboration, navigation, and operational readiness. All these use cases aid in improving the speed of decision-making and enhancing safety.
Today’s military operations emphasize the need for advanced technology and mobility. This in-field capability is Beneficial for Defense Department technicians who utilize AR devices during maintenance and for increasing operational readiness. With AR-enhanced rugged devices, military teams can access enhanced digital information in the harshest environments, delivering safety and decision-making support while remaining operationally effective. This article reviews the features of rugged tablets that enable AR and several ways AR-enabled rugged tablets can provide these benefits.
Military operations demand rugged devices that perform reliably under extreme conditions and integrate seamlessly with AR platforms, ensuring uninterrupted functionality and secure data access. These AR platforms can overlay digital terrain maps onto soldiers’ field of view, enhancing their ability to train and prepare for missions effectively, especially when operating on the ground in challenging environments.
With hot-swappable batteries, MIL-STD-810H certification, and IP66-rated water and dust protection, the best rugged devices remain operational through rain, extreme heat, and high-impact scenarios – among others. This durability makes them essential for front-line military operations. Also important is the ability to see in bright sunlight, a critical benefit that is easy to overlook given the applications occurring in desert and minimal-shade areas. Equally important to rugged devices is the ability to operate in direct sunlight, or operate in complete darkness with NVG’s.
Other considerations are size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C). This initiative quantifies (and prioritizes) small footprint, lightweight, high power-density, cost-efficient construction. The Department of Defense strongly prioritizes these criteria when procuring new devices. The DoD expanded the acronym to SWaP-C2, where the second C considers cooling, a significant driver of power efficiency in electronics thermal management.
Core Feature Summary:
MIL-STD-810H & IP66 Certifications: Withstand harsh temperatures, drops, shocks, and water exposure.
Daylight-Readable Displays: Maintain visibility in direct sunlight or low-light conditions.
Hot-Swappable Batteries: Enable continuous operation during extended missions.
SWaP-C: Size, weight, power, and cost, where improving even one factor may compel the buyer to consider a new device.
One way AR technology is reshaping maintenance military operations is through enhanced maintenance. The tablets can troubleshoot in the field, reducing downtime and ensuring critical military assets stay operational. Rugged mobile devices can automate workflows and simplify access to critical maintenance information, highlighting the maintenance issue and demonstrating how to fix it.
With AR-enabled devices, field operators can use the onboard camera to view digital environments, following guided step-by-step repair instructions. For more complex repairs, technicians can connect with remote experts who can visualize their exact environment through AR-powered devices. This approach accelerates the diagnostic process and enhances repair accuracy, ensuring quicker mission turnaround and increased operational readiness – reducing repair cost in kind. Early versions of AR systems provided essential feedback for developing more advanced maintenance capabilities. The Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) can test the effectiveness of AR-enhanced maintenance tasks by providing real-time data about the positions of both friendly and enemy forces, enhancing situational awareness during maintenance tasks.
Maintenance Benefits Summary:
Real-time guidance and repair instructions.
Visual diagnostics and part ID with remote expert support.
Reduced equipment downtime and faster mission recovery.
Cost savings through shorter, more accurate repairs.
Field deployment of a rugged computing device supporting augmented reality (AR) applications for mission-critical operations. These AR-enabled platforms deliver real-time data, digital overlays, and guided instructions to enhance situational awareness, collaboration, and operational readiness in harsh environments.
Combat readiness depends on practical, immersive training that mirrors real-world scenarios. AR-powered training modules offer hands-on simulations, allowing soldiers to build tactical skills and gain real-time feedback without leaving their operational zones.
Getac devices, equipped with advanced processors and high-resolution displays, power AR-based mission simulations that improve readiness, reduce training costs and minimize travel logistics. Field personnel can repeatedly engage in combat scenarios, gaining experience and building confidence before facing real-world missions. The Squad Immersive Virtual Trainer enhances combat training through holographic and mixed reality imagery, further improving situational awareness and facilitating various training scenarios.
Training Advantages Summary:
Real-world scenario simulations.
Task-specific operational drills with instant feedback.
Portable training modules accessible from remote deployments.
Improved navigation and spatial feedback for target or hazard ID
Integrating AR technology into military operations smoothly requires a combination of hardware, software, and connectivity. Leading rugged devices support AR-enabled software platforms, offering mobile data synchronization and secure network access through multi-carrier 4G/5G connectivity. Employing a commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) structure ensures the devices will function as required and can be arranged as the mission requires.
By integrating AR technology with logistics systems, technical manuals, and asset management tools, military teams can overlay digital information onto the physical environment to enhance operational processes. Tactical Augmented Reality (TAR) systems enable squad members to share information wirelessly, providing real-time technical data, instructions, and remote expert guidance, significantly improving troubleshooting times, training efficiency, and collaboration. Additionally, AR systems enhance mission planning by overlaying critical information onto the physical environment, thereby improving the execution of tactical operations.
The Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation plays a crucial role in developing these AR systems. Soldier input is integral in shaping these technologies, ensuring they meet actual user needs and are effective in the field.
Future developments in military AR will further enhance this ecosystem by incorporating technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), VR-based training, and enhanced AR-enabled smart glasses.
Implementation Essentials:
Integration with mobile devices and rugged computers.
Real-time data synchronization with logistics and maintenance systems.
Compatibility with technical manuals and interactive AR guides.
Using a rugged device platform and customizing a solution ensures the benefits of AR will add to the rugged performance. Leveraging the key device features and implementing them as described above can also have a substantial business impact, increasing the value of AR-enabled rugged tablets for the equipment purchaser. Securing funding for military technology initiatives is crucial, as it can transform ambitious ideas into reality and ensure timely development and testing.
There are several business advantages and values that rugged AR provides:
In the field, operational readiness depends on fully functioning equipment. Waiting for specialized repair teams can cause critical delays when equipment malfunctions in remote or combat environments. AR-powered maintenance tools embedded in Getac’s rugged devices eliminate this bottleneck by doing complex maintenance tasks, providing real-time troubleshooting, guided repair instructions, and remote diagnostics support.
Collaborative efforts between military and tech companies have been crucial to develop cutting-edge AR solutions for maintenance tasks, ensuring iterative prototyping and soldier feedback are integral to the process.
Real-Time Diagnostics: AR-enabled devices display 3D repair guides and troubleshooting procedures, allowing technicians to diagnose and fix issues immediately.
Remote Expert Assistance: Technicians can connect with remote experts through live video and AR overlays, receiving precise visual instructions tailored to their environment.
On-Site Repairs: Detailed, step-by-step AR repair modules ensure repairs are completed correctly the first time, minimizing the chance of repeated failures.
Faster mission recovery and reduced operational interruptions.
Decreased reliance on third-party service providers.
Enhanced mission success rates through ready-to-deploy equipment.
AR-powered rugged devices enable immersive combat training simulations directly from secure command environments. Real-time feedback, digital overlays, and task-specific modules enhance soldier readiness, situational awareness, and mission planning without the need for off-site deployments.
Maintaining combat readiness is a top priority for military units. Traditional training often requires military personnel to travel to centralized facilities, incurring significant logistical and financial costs. AR-driven training solutions integrated into Getac devices revolutionize this process by enabling remote, on-demand training wherever soldiers are deployed.
● Immersive Training Modules: Soldiers can engage in battlefield simulations with real-time feedback, practicing mission-specific tasks in a risk-free, digital environment.
● Skill Reinforcement Anywhere: Operators can rehearse tactical procedures and equipment handling through interactive AR interfaces, staying sharp even in remote deployments.
● Mission-Specific Simulations: Customizable AR-based training scenarios allow soldiers to prepare for specific mission environments and operational tasks, boosting situational awareness.
● Reduced travel expenses and centralized training costs.
● Improved decision-making, readiness, and response times through continuous, location-independent training.
● Enhanced soldier confidence, safety, and preparedness for real-world missions.
The future of AR in military operations will see continued innovation aimed at improving accuracy, usability, and mission-specific customization. Future advancements in augmented reality technology may include: developers addressing issues and implementing soldier feedback to advance the technical capabilities of AR devices.
Enhanced AR Devices: Integration with smart glasses, augmented mobile devices, and hands-free control systems.
IoT and AI Integration: Real-time data sharing between devices, improving situational awareness.
Advanced VR & AR Simulations: Merging AR with VR to create more immersive combat and training experiences.
Smart Maintenance Systems: AI-powered predictive maintenance enabled by AR interfaces to reduce downtime and further integration with the IoT.
The Synthetic Training Environment aims to unify various training environments into a single platform with an open architecture and user-friendly interface, highlighting the importance of developing new technologies to enhance military training and operational effectiveness.
By integrating customized configuration options of commercial off-the-shelf AR-powered features into military-grade devices, Getac enables military teams to remain mission-ready and operationally efficient under any conditions. From reducing repair times to providing immersive combat training, Getac’s rugged devices are redefining military operations.
Click here to learn more about Getac’s military-grade rugged laptop portfolio.
Q1: How does AR improve maintenance tasks in the military? AR technology enables real-time repair guidance, minimizing errors and speeding up the maintenance and repair process by providing on-the-spot diagnostics and digital manuals.
Q2: Why are rugged devices critical for military operations? Rugged devices ensure secure access to mission-critical data in challenging environments by providing durability, water resistance, and extreme temperature tolerance.
Q3: Can AR training replace traditional military training? While AR training doesn’t replace traditional methods, it complements them by offering immersive, real-world scenario simulations accessible anywhere.
Q4: How do Getac devices support AR applications? Getac devices are built with powerful processors, high-resolution displays, and MIL-STD-810H durability standards, ensuring seamless operation of AR-powered applications.
Q5: What future advancements can we expect in military AR? Future developments will likely include AR-enabled smart glasses like IVAS for solutional awareness, IoT integration, AI-powered diagnostics, solutions for remote-supported vehicle predictive maintenance, and enhanced VR/AR training simulations.
Dante Conrad is the Vice President for Federal Sales in Getac North America with over 20 years of experience in rugged computing working. Dante has worked in organizations such as GTSI and Panasonic, providing technology products to the US Navy and the defense industry.
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