US ARMY develops SMARTRUCK III

The periscope camera includes a night vision camera, visible light camera and laser range finder in a self-contained pan-and-tilt.

For high-resolution situation awareness, the telemmersion system can raise eight feet above the truck for capturing the 360-degree full-motion spherical scene at 100 million pixels per second. This compact system includes directional sound monitoring and contains a base unit which can hold up to four hours of recording.

The intelligence equipment includes a Bio-agent Acquisition System which can acquire particulate samples from intake air, distinguish bio-aerosols from dust and other non-biological material and capture samples for analysis. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's) can be controlled from the SMARTRUCK III's electronic interfaces. For example, ducted fan UAV, capable of vertical takeoff and landing and high speed horizontal flight, could offer a low-cost surveillance option. Depending on the mission requirements, UAV's can carry a variety of payloads including cameras or Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) sensors for air quality sampling. CommunicationsSMARTRUCK III's communication technologies create an integrated, stand-alone Command-and-Control Center.

Each of the rear seat passengers will operate a 20' touch screen (with a storable keyboard and mouse) to monitor the numerous SMARTRUCK III technologies. They also each have two 7' LCD screens to view their selected camera feeds. SMARTRUCK III incorporates high-speed satellite internet access and satellite TV. The front and rear seat passengers will have removable wireless tablet PCs which allow users to monitor vehicle operations and control some of the peripheral devices from outside the vehicle.

Riding in captain's chairs the SMARTRUCK III's four person crew operates an array of ultra-high tech equipment: The Driver is responsible for piloting the vehicle. From a pop-up LCD display, the driver can view the forward-looking night vision camera which extends the driver's visible range. An inverted LCD mirror allows the driver to monitor the rearward action.

The Gunner operates the weapon station control unit, including all weapon system camera feeds, weapon deployment, target acquisition and firing.

The Surveillance Operator and the Communications Operator, through their numerous electronic interfaces, will monitor UHF, VHF, military and/or police band radio traffic, track the highly-detailed GPS navigation software, monitor the real-time vehicle diagnostics, control a UAV device and payload, control and view the camera feeds, analyze NBC detection data and engage the electric-shock door handles and other countermeasure controls. Overall crew comfort is a high priority with the SMARTRUCK III. The on-board systems have been organized for efficiency and stowed to maximize crew space.

The cabin is air conditioned and includes a center-cab full-reclining sleeper seat.TelematicsUsing the latest telematics systems, the SMARTRUCK III and its commercial variations can be designed to maximize uptime for the vehicle, increase fleet productivity and reduce operating cost in several key areas. These include: systems management using GPS for location monitoring; situational updates for tracking supplies; logistics control; full-time vehicle diagnostics; prognostics of predictive failures; embedded training for operators; and systems management for recording vehicle performance.

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