Maximum Mission Awareness In-Transit by U.S. Army Courtney Bacon, PEO Soldier
January 8, 2022
Mounted armored vehicles such as the
Bradley have long been used as heavy weapons platforms with long
range sensors to hunt targets and provide armored transportation to
dismounted Soldiers.
 U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers participate in Bradley Vehicle Excursion 3 test event with the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) prototype Capability Set 4 at Camp Roberts, California on September 14, 2021. (U.S. Army photo by Courtney Bacon, PEO Soldier)
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However, once onboard the vehicle,
Soldiers lost visibility of what is happening around them, leaving
them ill-prepared to anticipate the changing battlespace upon
dismount.
In effort to provide situational awareness while
Soldiers are in transport, a cross-enterprise Army team is working
to incorporate Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS)
technology and sensors into vehicle platforms for optimal
battlefield visibility at every stage of the mission. The
goggle-based IVAS display integrates digital low-light, thermal
night vision, and high-resolution waveguide technology to create a
mixed reality interface for the dismounted Soldier. Therefore,
optimizing the system for Soldiers at every stage of a mission,
including transport, is critical to ensuring success in future
multi-domain operations.
To maximize the integration of IVAS
to the Bradley platform specifically, the Army Platform Integration
team, comprised of Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier, PEO
Ground Combat Systems, and Combat Capabilities Development Command
(DEVCOM), executed a third Vehicle Excursion (VE3) test event at
Camp Roberts, CA in September 2021.
“The goal of platform
integration, like the one demonstrated here on the Bradley Infantry
Fighting Vehicle, is to not only ensure that Soldiers equipped with
IVAS don’t lose their enhanced situational awareness while mounted,
but to also take advantage of the on-board platform sensors that
enable them to see what the combat vehicle sees,” said Maj. Shawn
Jones, Platform Integration lead under PEO Soldier Project Manager
IVAS.
Soldiers from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2-7
Infantry Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga,
came to test the capability and noticed that feeds from the current
sensors were more accessible to each Soldier on the platform as they
executed Improvised Explosive Device (IED) searches, reconnaissance,
and complex attack missions.
 U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers
wearing goggle-based Integrated Visual Augmentation System
(IVAS) as they participate in Bradley Vehicle Excursion 3 test event with the IVAS prototype Capability Set 4 at Camp Roberts, California on September 14, 2021. (U.S. Army photo by Courtney Bacon, PEO Soldier)
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“The IVAS augmented reality system
integrates communications, thermals, and night vision to enhance our
situational awareness and lethality from within the Bradley,” Pfc.
Benjamin Franke said. “It allows everyone to see what the driver,
commander, and gunner are seeing outside, which gets more eyes-on
and increases situational awareness immediately for when we
dismount.”
While Soldiers can receive mission updates such
as emerging intelligence, terrain, and target locations while in
transport, they also hope to use the physical advantages of the
vehicle platform to maximize their effectiveness upon dismount.
“An individual Solider on ground sometimes has limited visibly
of the enemy due to an obstructed line of sight,” said Sgt. 1st
Class Darrell Borgic. “But the Bradley is taller and has better
optic capability, so dismounts are able to leverage that to see
targets while on the ground and make an informed tactical decision.”
“The system lets us get more eyes on our objective so we
don’t miss anything, which keeps us all safer,” added Franke. “Some
of the exercises required us to scan for IEDs, so having our
dismounts onboard also be able to look for those has actually shown
to make a difference in our mission success.”
Tech Development
The development of the integrated
technology required teammates to reach across lanes of expertise and
facilitate the integration of the new modern IVAS with the Bradley.
Don Aldea, PM Mounted Armored Vehicles Mechanical and Systems
Engineer, and Lead Engineer for IVAS Integration, ensured Bradley
and IVAS requirements were communicated and developed across the
diverse teams.
“It all started when leadership came and
asked, ‘When an IVAS-equipped Soldier hops onto a vehicle platform
or a Bradley for transport, how do we maintain the connectivity and
situational awareness they had on the ground so that combat
advantage doesn’t stop just because they are now mounted and
moving?’”, Aldea said.
It was a complex problem set with
requirements and kit that was not easily compatible, he said, but
the team’s VE3 user study event was proof of concept that the
capability is feasible and operationally delivers increased
lethality and survivability. Aldea highlighted some of the main
technical features of the system.
“When a Soldier walks into
a Bradley wearing IVAS, they can do three main things: SEE, World
View, and power up,” he said. “We put in interfaces to power and
charge their batteries, for SEE we cloned the feeds from the three
existing sensors – front DVE [Drivers Vision Enhancer], driver’s CIV
[Commander’s Independent Viewer], and gunner’s IBAS [Improved
Bradley Acquisition Subsystem] – so the Soldiers can passively view
what the Bradley sees through their IVAS HUD [heads up display]. We
also integrated radios so we can use all the features of IVAS for a
connected mission execution.”
Though Aldea is a systems
engineer, he is passionate about the operational capability gap that
IVAS mounted on a Bradley will address.
“When Soldiers come
up to a position where they are getting ready to deploy outside of
the vehicle - as of today they are going in mostly dark and blind,”
Aldea explained. “With this integrated technology, they can get map,
mission, and intel updates enroute. They can see what is around them
to strategically position the Bradley and then drop the ramp where
they are not in direct fire and execute immediately.
“In World
View, they can also know where their brother and sister platforms
are, so they can work together, cover more ground, and make informed
decisions and ad hoc changes on the move all while buttoned up in
the Bradley,” Aldea added.
Pieces Of An Integrated Solution
The DEVCOM night vision lab was also a
critical part of the integrated team’s work. Dr. Navin Mathur, IVAS
Platform Integration Lead Engineer, explained how the increase in
networked and visual accessibility delivers an enhanced solution to
the problem set.
“Having a networked End-User Device (EUD),
like IVAS on a Soldier in the back of a platform like a Bradley or
Stryker becomes invaluable, but it is only part of the solution,”
said Mathur. “Not only does the SEE feature allow entire crews to
clear a large area within the safety of the vehicle instead of
dismounting and being physically exposed, but the physical
limitations of the Soldier and platform are significantly minimized
through the additional integration of the Army Black Hornet UAS
[unmanned aerial system]. The drone feeds into the IVAS HUD which
allows visibility on areas that the platform and the dismount can’t
physically cover.”
Another notable aspect is the delivery
and integration of Soldier power into the vehicle platforms.
“The UBC [universal battery charger] integrated on the platform
will reduce the need for Soldiers to carry extra CWBs [conformal
wearable batteries] while dismounted on the objective and allow for
easy resupply of fresh batteries while mounted,” Mathur said. “Even
if the mission is extended, our Soldiers are still powered to
execute.”
Conclusion
IVAS is being developed to efficiently
deliver relevant mission information and operationally-relevant
tools to Soldiers at every stage of mission execution. The
integration of the technology with platforms and drones extends the
combat advantage of a single dismount beyond physical limitations.
“Together it gives the entire force better situational
awareness and allows Soldiers to make more informed decisions before
dismounting,” said Mathur. “There are no longer gaps in information
between mounting, transit, and dismounting, which will increase the
survivability and lethality for both the platform and the Soldiers.”
The cross-enterprise Platform Integration team plans to conduct
a user study with further IVAS integration to Stryker platforms in
August 2022.
“This product has the potential to be a force
multiplier,” said Franke. “It’ll help bring more vehicles, crews,
and dismounts home alive and I hope to be able to use it as it
continues to develop in the future.”
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