Futuristic battle gear that will redefine the combat abilities of the next generation of Indian soldiers and the way the Army operates on the battlefield has been developed in a top secret programme by the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), Bengaluru, a Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratory.
The equipment, to be inducted into the Army by 2013, will equip a soldier on the battlefront with cutting-edge communication and navigation technology that will help decision-makers take real-time tactical decisions, like an order for a precision airstrike.
A soldier’s uniform will be armed with a miniature, lightweight computer attached to his helmet, whose visor will serve as a transparent screen that displays information activated by a small keyboard strapped to the wrist.
“The system will allow the soldier to use the Internet, contact base station and transmit voice and data to his commanding officer,” said Manish Singh, a CAIR scientist who was part of a team that developed the technology in less than a year. Several developed countries, including the US, are still working on similar projects. Another CAIR scientist, Shahshank Gupta, said the lab developed a CPU the size of a human palm to ensure that the kit is light and easy to carry.
“The technology will significantly reduce the risk a soldier faces on the battlefield,” Mr Singh said.