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Deploying Modern Military Helmets
Latest tech aims to improve personal equipment used by soldiers. See it in action, Monday 4/1 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ‘Tech Live.‘
By Peter Barnes and Alina Mesenbourg, Tech Live
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modular helmet
"It feels regular. I don‘t feel anything different." That‘s what Army specialist Marvin Washington said while testing the Pentagon‘s newest radio technology. "Tech Live" takes a look tonight.
Washington is wearing a new modular helmet that provides protection as well as dual channel communications capability. You can hear his voice, but there‘s no visible microphone.
It‘s called MICH, which stands for modular integrated communications helmet, and it‘s part of the Pentagon‘s effort to improve personal equipment used by soldiers. The helmet‘s new radio technology was developed by the military‘s modernization program, called the Special Operations Forces Personal Equipment Advanced Requirements (SPEAR).
The helmet is designed to provide ballistic, fragmentation, aural, and impact protection -- all with only one system.
"I think it‘s good that they are using technology to make things easier for the soldier," Washington said.
MICH is a headgear system that is modular so that components can be added or removed to withstand the requirements of different missions. The helmet‘s communication system consists of a microphone, microphone adapter, multiple radio and intercom adapters, and push-to-talk access.
The microphone and earpiece system minimizes interference with hearing, vision, and other equipment. The bone-conducting microphone is hidden in the helmet and records the voice waves as they travel through the operator‘s skull.
"The bone microphone actually takes conduction from the head, through the cranium, to an accelerometer that‘s found in the bone microphone itself," project officer Richard Elder said.
The system is included in a new helmet for US forces made of bullet-resistant Kevlar and trimmed to make it lighter. Bone-conducting microphones have been around for more than a decade, but earlier designs were uncomfortable and less dependable. Using the new helmet, soldiers can use a thumb button or a box switch to talk.
The new microphones were developed in France for firefighters.
"We took it through a test and evaluation phase and made it more durable, militarized it, helped with the design and compatibility of all the accompanying systems it needs to work with, and came up with the current technology," Elder said.
The Pentagon will start deploying the helmets, which cost $1,300 each, as early as this year.
http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3378781,00.html
Latest tech aims to improve personal equipment used by soldiers. See it in action, Monday 4/1 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ‘Tech Live.‘
By Peter Barnes and Alina Mesenbourg, Tech Live
Printer-friendly format
Email this story
Video Highlight
modular helmet
"It feels regular. I don‘t feel anything different." That‘s what Army specialist Marvin Washington said while testing the Pentagon‘s newest radio technology. "Tech Live" takes a look tonight.
Washington is wearing a new modular helmet that provides protection as well as dual channel communications capability. You can hear his voice, but there‘s no visible microphone.
It‘s called MICH, which stands for modular integrated communications helmet, and it‘s part of the Pentagon‘s effort to improve personal equipment used by soldiers. The helmet‘s new radio technology was developed by the military‘s modernization program, called the Special Operations Forces Personal Equipment Advanced Requirements (SPEAR).
The helmet is designed to provide ballistic, fragmentation, aural, and impact protection -- all with only one system.
"I think it‘s good that they are using technology to make things easier for the soldier," Washington said.
MICH is a headgear system that is modular so that components can be added or removed to withstand the requirements of different missions. The helmet‘s communication system consists of a microphone, microphone adapter, multiple radio and intercom adapters, and push-to-talk access.
The microphone and earpiece system minimizes interference with hearing, vision, and other equipment. The bone-conducting microphone is hidden in the helmet and records the voice waves as they travel through the operator‘s skull.
"The bone microphone actually takes conduction from the head, through the cranium, to an accelerometer that‘s found in the bone microphone itself," project officer Richard Elder said.
The system is included in a new helmet for US forces made of bullet-resistant Kevlar and trimmed to make it lighter. Bone-conducting microphones have been around for more than a decade, but earlier designs were uncomfortable and less dependable. Using the new helmet, soldiers can use a thumb button or a box switch to talk.
The new microphones were developed in France for firefighters.
"We took it through a test and evaluation phase and made it more durable, militarized it, helped with the design and compatibility of all the accompanying systems it needs to work with, and came up with the current technology," Elder said.
The Pentagon will start deploying the helmets, which cost $1,300 each, as early as this year.
http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3378781,00.html
