“Soldier in Bubble” Project Raises Great Interest

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

A soldier is, among other things, a walking mass of information. Goggles, headsets, radios, computer tablets, all generate data. And there’s a mass of wires that shares that data between different sensors. Bluetooth-based communications systems are also problematic because their 100 meter-range makes them easy to detect and intercept by enemy forces. If a new technology is approved by the military, U.S. soldiers and other combatants could go into the field with secure and undetectable communications platform. Raytheon, in conjunction with the U.S. military’s Special Operations command, has been developing the prototype for a new stealthy system that effectively creates a very short-range communications bubble around any individual warfighter.

The “Soldier in a Bubble” project is designed for a secure, low-intercept and low-detection probability communications network tying together things like a tactical radio, a head-mounted display, body sensors, rangefinders, a headset, and more, which is also lighter and has less of a snag factor than current gear.

The system, which is still at the proof of concept stage, utilizes near-field magnetic waves rather than radio-frequency waves, according to fastcompany.com. The system would have a range of about six feet, meaning that it would be nearly impossible for an enemy to detect, let alone intercept, yet it would be ideal for things like giving a field medic instant wireless data about a wounded comrade, according to the company.

Using a central hub, the Soldier in a Bubble system brings together signals from all the different sensors and communications tools – each of which would have an onboard adapter – and can convert them to more conventional, secure systems for transmitting to an operations headquarters, other soldiers, or anyone else a soldier would need to talk to.

The system would work perfectly if someone was wounded in the field and a medic also outfitted with the technology came to help. As the bubbles overlap, the system could instantly and automatically transmit medical data from bio-sensors mounted on the wounded soldier’s body to the medic, saving time and making it easy for the medic to get a quick sense of what is wrong.

Another use case is data sharing in the field between members of partner forces, like those from another branch of the military or from an allied country using different communications equipment. That data could include things like mission objectives or points on a map. Soldiers within a single unit will be able to communicate a wide range of data silently.