Soldiers could soon wear ‘black box’ recorders that track their movements

Australian soldiers could wear personal black box recorders to track their movements and call for back-up.

The tech would involve lightweight sensors that could track and collect a soldier's movement, with the Australian Defence Department's research indicating that the wearable will offer a long battery life to those in the field.

As a result, the tech would also act as an emergency SOS signal to be activated by a soldier in need of help, with low-orbit satellite connections used to send GPS coordinates back to a base.

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While this is all helpful for the military sector, the Defence Science and Technology Group (DST) said it's also a possibility the hardware could expand to more everyday public services.

"In addition to the benefits for the warfighter, this technological innovation is expected to provide benefits in other contexts, including emergency services, law enforcement agencies and the private sector," it said.

But what exactly will be tracked?

Well, the current plan is to use an inertial measurement unit to track acceleration, direction and certain limb movements of a solider. This, in theory, should be able to decipher whether a troop was stationary, walking, prone, or running.

Geo-location would track coordinates, while the DST projects that machine learning could help break down this data and provide safety recommendations and tactical advice.

Despite the wearable tech plans for troops, help is needed in order to turn this from a concept into reality. There's also an AUD $700,000 reward for any university or business able to come up with answers under the hood and build a working prototype.

We've already seen the US military begin testing for smart body sensors that can detect head trauma, so a device that can track general military activity would appear to be a natural step for wearable tech.

Source: ITNews