Small is more: SWAP for soldier systems and unmanned vehicles dominates today's technology

Posted by John Keller

THE MIL & AERO BLOG, 7 May 2013. People tell me they're getting sick of the term SWAP, which as we know all too well is short for size, weight, and power. The idea, of course, is little SWAP, not big SWAP -- for most things these days, that is.

The desire for big things in small packages is front-and-center in the aerospace and defense electronics industry because of a growing and wide variety of applications involving unmanned vehicles, soldier systems, and the like.

Evidence of the growing focus on SWAP is almost everywhere we look. Last week at the SPIE Defense Security + Sensing electro-optics show in Baltimore, for example, tiny size, light weight, and low power consumption were common themes.

SWAP-driven electro-optics products ranging from hyperspectral cameras, infrared sensors, and tiny inertial measurement units were on prominent display, with the smallest sensor packages with the most capability possible.

Related stories -- Small size, light weight for unmanned vehicle applications dominate technology at SPIE -- DARPA eyes sensors, communications, and data processing technology for the infantry squad -- Army reaches out to industry for transponder technology to separate friend from foe.

One product from SBG Systems in Rueil-Malmaison, France, unveiled the Ekinox INS MEMS-based inertial navigation system (INS) that combines INS based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, with a miniaturized global positioning system (GPS) receiver for on-board navigation on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ground robots, and other small systems.

Sensors Unlimited Inc. in Princeton, N.J., introduced the Micro-SWIR is a shortwave infrared (SWIR) video camera for unmanned vehicles and soldier systems. Also at SPIE, Neptec Technologies Corp. in Kanata, Ontario, unveiled the OPAL-360-series obscurant-penetrating 3D laser radar for autonomous off-road vehicles and robotics applications in harsh environments.

Then there's more. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is asking industry for ideas on digital technology to infantry squads in a program called Digitizing SQUAD X: Sensing, Communications, Mission Command, and Soldier-Worn Backbone.

The U.S. Army, meanwhile, is sending out feelers to industry for a program called Advanced Combat Identification Technologies or Systems, which is looking for new kinds of small transponder and interrogator technologies for infantry soldiers to help separate friend from foe on the battlefield.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Unmanned vehicles and soldier systems are where it's at for electronics and electro-optics technology these days.