Tactical Augmented Reality In The US Army

By Anthony Phillips


With technology being able to somehow simulate real life conditions in machines through what is known as augmented reality or AR, the US army has been making much advancements to their regular performance, giving the cadets a clearer overview of their battlefield in order to know where they are and where their enemies are. This type of technology makes use of tactical augmented reality or TAR, and has harvested much results.

When the TAR was created by the C5ISR Center US ARMY CCDC, the aim of the department was to make life for the soldiers easier. They aimed to make the senses of the soldiers sharper through technology. They also aimed to replace bulky equipment with compact, multipurpose ones.

Now, one of the main features of TAR, is that it has so many functions rolled into just one piece of equipment. One of those functions is a very strong GPS system that can accurately pinpoint coordinates to show the people in the battlefield. This enables the soldiers to know where their teammates are and the estimated locations of their enemies.

Aside from that, the TAR is also equipped with night vision goggles that allow one to see in the dark. The amazing thing about these goggles is that they are also connected to the locator enabling one to have a clear view of the battlefield even at night. It also allows one to locate enemy whereabouts in the dark just in case they are hiding.

Of course, the GPS is probably one of the main advantages of this system. Currently, soldiers have to use a hand held device to locate their hereabouts through the GPS. However, the new TAR system is a whole hands free system wherein everything, including the GPS, is already integrated inside the headset, allowing the soldier to geo register their location.

So the question that most people might be asking right now is what the whole TAR system looks like. It is actually a very simple system that consists of an eyepiece and a headset that is wirelessly connected to a small tablet that can be attached to the belt. It is also wirelessly connected to a thermal sight that is attached to the gun or weapon of the holder.

With the wireless capabilities, the soldiers can even share data with each other. Other than location and coordinates, soldiers can also share visuals and images with each other. This will allow the soldiers to have better coordination with each other, allowing all of them to work smoother when in the battlefield.

As one can see, this invention is a truly marvelous one that will really bring out the full potential of the US Army. In order to improve overall performance, the TAR was created to make things easier for the soldiers who are at war. With its multipurpose functions, it makes teamwork smoother, locating enemies faster, and night fighting much simpler as a whole.




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