MANY EYES, SAME PICTURES
him or her with an identical view of each vehicle enabler from the common user interface all the enablers share. Simi- larly, the training burden is reduced with consistency across operator controls. Te operator has only one interface to learn and a common set of controls for all enablers, now and into the future.
SPEED TEST
To test for system latency—the delay between input and outcome—an oscilloscope compared the speed of the signal as measured directly from the initial event with raw video processed through the camera, media converter, server and display. Tests indicated that latency under full load was well within required specifications.
communications equipment, come with their own proprietary and unique opera- tor stations, which can be viewed and controlled only by the Soldiers assigned to them. All of these different operator stations limit room for future capability growth and create integration challenges. Even if all the stations could fit in one vehicle, they’d require too many displays for a single operator to view and control effectively.
To address these challenges in the forth- coming MMPV Type II program of record (POR), the U.S. Army Research, Development
and Engineering Com-
mand’s Communications-Electronics Center (CERDEC), a subordinate organi- zation to U.S. Army Materiel Command, partnered with the Product Manager for Assured Mobility Systems (PdM AMS) to rapidly develop a software and hardware architecture called the Multifunction Video Display (MVD). PdM AMS comes under the Army Project Office for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, assigned to the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Combat Support and Combat Service Support.
Te MVD system efficiently distributes images and sensor control to all crew sta- tions within a vehicle, resulting in a single touch-screen display for each crew sta- tion capable of viewing and controlling all vehicle enablers, and creating a seam- less common interface across all enablers. Tis allows capability growth without increasing display size, weight and power (SWAP)
requirements. Adding a new
enabler no longer requires the addition of an enabler operator’s station. MVD tech- nology is completely government-owned and -developed, is hardware-independent, enabling it to run on numerous platforms, and has a plug-and-play VICTORY (Vehicle Integration for C4ISR/EW [command, control, communications, computers, information, surveillance and reconnaissance/electronic warfare] Interoperability)-based architecture. Te software can run on any platform.
MULTIPLE EFFICIENCIES MVD improves mission capability by increasing operator efficiency and situ- ational awareness and reducing SWAP requirements. Operator efficiency improves first by keeping the opera- tor focused on one display that presents
116 Army AL&T Magazine July-September 2015
Previously, full-motion video could only be viewed by a single crew member with the enabler’s dedicated display. With MVD, any crew member can view video from any or all enablers simultaneously and in real time. With additional eyes on each video feed, situational awareness increases proportionally. Finally, the sin- gle integrated MVD system obviates the need for dedicated processing and display hardware, reducing SWAP requirements.
AGGRESSIVE TIMELINE, AGGRESSIVE PLAN Te MVD project originated in a con- versation between the CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Director- ate (NVESD) and PdM AMS at a forum hosted by the U.S. Army Engineer School related to capability production docu- ment (CPD) vehicle requirements for the MMPV Type II POR. Te overall CPD required a common, intuitive display to view and control all vehicle enablers at all crew stations simultaneously in real time, with the capacity for future growth. NVESD had accomplished a related dis- play effort called Multi-sensor Graphical User Interface, which could be augmented to meet that MMPV Type II single display requirement. Te timeline for develop- ment was aggressive as the result of the MMPV Type II fielding schedule.
To be considered for insertion into the MMPV during its U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Center testing (currently ongoing), NVESD and PdM AMS had to demonstrate a working prototype system
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