New Wearables For Future Forces

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Wearable combat tech that’s straight out of a sci-fi movie was developed by Singapore company ST Engineering, and gives us a real life glimpse into what the soldier of the future could be like.

A system called Arielle combines elements such as high-tech helmet and body armour among other wearables which can regulate the body temperature of tomorrow’s fighting forces in real time – which is an advantage to forces in sweltering tropic climates.

Also, the helmets comes with a futuristic heads up display (HUD) which not only provides protection from shrapnel but allows the soldier to view augmented reality images to communicate, coordinate movement and to track friendly forces.

The helmet is also fitted with a “Person of Interest” system that uses facial recognition to identify wanted suspects and this could be integrated for use by police officers too.

Officers would be able to call for backup by simply swiping on their visors.

According to businessinsider.com, those cool wearables also have a way for energy saving and recharging.

Special braces fitted around a personnel’s legs will be able to convert kinetic energy from walking or running into usable electrical power that can be used to charge the wearables.

There’s more to the Arielle system: a vest-mounted camera, sensors and smart watches.

The modular camera can be fitted onto the combat vest to feed live footage back to base so commanders can stay up-to-date on what’s happening on the ground.

Sensors connected to an officer’s sidearm will trigger an alarm when the weapon is drawn, transmitting the alert to headquarters to notify them of potential armed conflict.

Another one of those wearables is a smart watch that track vital signs such as heart rate and temperature, and will transmit data wirelessly back to commanders to ensure that officers stay in good health.

According to the company’s website, they have a focus on “new generation systems and solutions for modern combat and homeland security” and looks to “help shape future fighting capability, modernise armed forces and enhance homeland security”.

ST Engineering said it designed Ariele to help enhance “the efficiency and capability of the soldier on the ground.”