Field Radios May Serve as Sensor Systems

Many defense technologies add capabilities, but tactical radios may be assuming a most unlikely role as battlefield sensors. Scott Buscemi, an electrical engineer with SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic, told a MILCOM 2010 Tuesday afternoon panel audience that he has written a paper explaining how networked radios could serve to detect and locate gunfire aimed at friendly troops. Radio networks can be used in many ways, he said, and many other systems will demonstrate unknown uses once they are up and running. He added that commercial technology can be adapted on all scales, noting that SPAWAR has have developed a radio built entirely out of commercial technologies. Buscemi advised contractors designing and building radios to spend the necessary time in the laboratory to make the radio more robust before it is deployed to the field. However, ad hoc networks are situational dependent, so it is impossible to test for all scenarios. Inevitably, he advised, developers will learn vital facts in the field.