Soldiers are exposed to a great deal of danger, as the military equipment is constantly evolving, thus making it hard for them to have a proper training, according to the new technologies developed. We all know that the military are not exactly open to discussions and disclosure, so, every army is trying to exceed the others' expectations, by coming up with all sorts of systems that regular people wouldn't even think possible.

The latest innovation of this type, just approved by the Pentagon, represents some special binoculars, supposed to rap a user's brainwaves to home in on threats. The sum approved by the Pentagon for this project, for its first phase actually, is 6.7 million US dollars.

 

Soldiers are believed to be equipped with an inherent ability to detect approaching signs of danger, but looking through binoculars limits their field of vision. So, in order to keep a sharp eye on events other than the field of vision of the binoculars, Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has decided to provide soldiers with smart binoculars, which have a wide-angle imaging system.

 

Developed by Northrop Grumman, which was leading an academic and industry consortium for the project, known as the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System program, or CT2WS, this system would be able to focus light from a 120-degree field onto high-resolution detectors, which will then transmit signals to image-processing software.

 

When the soldiers look through the goggles, the scalp electrodes in a helmet would tell how their brains react to various objects. This would train the system to know what constitutes a threat. Ultimately, the system would be able to automatically scan scenes and identify threats, while the soldier would investigate individual targets.

 

“The brain's input would train the system's algorithms, which will continue to be refined over time so that the warfighter is always presented with items of relevance to his mission,” the company said.

 

After the project's initial 12-month, $US6.7M stage, DARPA (Defense Advanced Projects Agency - a Pentagon arm that acts as a cradle of new technology for use by the US military) has the option to extend the contract for two more phases to develop the subsystems and a final prototype of portable assemblies. “A prototype is not a product, so if we are three years away from a prototype we might be five years or more away from a device that might be considered a product,” DARPA spokeswoman Jan Walker said.

 
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