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The eye of Nomad

Jan-10-2005 » Filed Under: General Military

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By Eric Fetters, Herald Writer

BOTHELL - Stryker vehicle commanders leading their armored combat vehicles through Iraq are getting a little help from high-tech devices developed by a local company.

With augmented vision units made by Bothell's Microvision Inc., the commanders can check digital maps without having to take their eyes off the road.

"It's nice to see it being used and saving lives, because it was military money that helped develop it," said Bruce Westcoat, who handles Microvision's military applications and sales.

The 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, the second Stryker team deployed from Fort Lewis, is now using the Nomad device in Iraq. Before that, the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division used 100 Nomad units during its tour of duty there, Westcoat said.

The Nomad units solve a simple, but critical, problem.

While the Stryker's high-tech tracking and battle systems seem to work well, the information from those systems is displayed on an inconveniently located screen. Because it's inside the vehicle, the commander can't see it and watch the battlefield from the vehicle's top hatch at the same time.

Instead, Westcoat said, most commanders end up ducking inside the vehicle to glance at the screen, popping their heads out the top hatch and then repeating the process - frequently.

"They were doing this 60 to 70 times an hour. It was a huge fiasco for them," he said. "It's actually a distraction for them to duck down into the vehicle to study the display."

Additionally, continually bending between the vehicle's interior and the hatch can take a physical toll.

With this in mind, the Army began talking with Microvision 21/2 years ago about modifying the company's system for use by Stryker vehicle commanders.

The Nomad system can create a bright display that appears as a 17-inch diameter map a foot in front of the commander's field of vision. Even though the red display is designed to be easily readable in the desert sunlight of Iraq, it also doesn't block the commander's view.


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