Sound and effective decisions, supported by reliable data, usually determine military operational success. Large volumes of data have been produced as a result of recent rapid advancements in electronic instrumentation, equipment sensors, digital storage, and communication systems. This flood of digital data offers military leaders countless data mining chances to uncover hidden trends in a wide range of circumstances. Visualization tools and other data science techniques help leaders, particularly commanders, and their staffs ask questions, come up with solutions, and make judgments from the complicated information contained in this variety of data.
In the field, there is an unprecedented need for data, which is only increasing. Most mission- and safety-critical aerospace and defense applications depend on quick, fail-safe access to vital information, highlighting the demand for rugged, dependable, high-performance mobile computing in even the harshest conditions. For people to trust the data and make informed judgments, data accuracy is extremely crucial.
Here’s how the military uses data:
Data Identification
Multifaceted threats, many of which have different agendas, reactive capabilities, and adaptive skills are all part of military operations in a dynamic environment. Additionally, operational plans are fraught with unpredictability, therefore it is crucial that military leaders take prompt, informed judgments. Leaders divide their data into political, military, economic, social, informational, infrastructure, physical environment, and temporal operational variables to make assessments more straightforward. Rugged tablets can provide commanders with an operational picture that includes the whereabouts of forces (“blue-force tracking”) and the resources that are at their disposal. Teams that deploy indirect fire can carry tablets and use them to direct actions against the positions and formations of the opposition.
Data Collection
Military leaders rely largely on their analysts to convert data into prospective solutions to fulfill mission objectives because of time constraints or insufficient personal technical skills. However, some leaders especially those in the field don’t have access to data scientists or other skilled analysts, so they need tools that are easy to use and produce reliable results.
Rugged tablets are designed to be durable and can endure drops, spills, shocks, dust, and many other environmental variables. They also deliver data-driven organizational effectiveness. Because of their reliability and durability, they have earned the IP65 and MIL-STD standards. For the military, which has to collect reliable data, rugged tablets are an ideal solution.
Data Organization
Collecting, correlating, and making sense of big data into a single, cohesive image is called creating a common operating picture (COP). Another issue with developing a useful common operating picture is that oftentimes the most valuable information isn’t contained anywhere in military intelligence files — it’s in the expert’s head. The expert’s experience, knowledge, and intuition often play a key role in how data is filtered and interpreted to create a COP. However, it’s possible to put the expert’s knowledge into the software so everyone can use it.
Rugged tablets provide the ability for military personnel to have access to real-time data at their fingertips no matter where they are. Real-time data improves communications among teams allowing decisions to be made at the moment to stay on top of ever-changing environments that consistently take place on and off the field.