Smart fabrics that integrate optical components into the weave of the material to facilitate the dissemination of critical or creative data are attracting much attention these days. In the United States, the Future Force Warrior program is at the forefront of the military's work in this direction. Similar programs are taking place in other countries, including Slovenia's 21st Century Warrior, Australia's Land 125, Portugal's Soldado du Futuro, FELIN in France, the Sweedish Markus program, Germany's Infantryman of the Future, the UK's Future infantry System program, and Israel's Advanced Infantry System program. In each case, the focus is on bringing advanced communication and logistical tools to the soldier in the field.
The Future Force Warrior program at the Natick Army Research Center (NARC; Natick, MA), is looking at new kinds of body armor, the materials of the uniform, how to integrate and use the onboard computer, eyewear, weapons systems, network access, and other communications, physiological monitoring, power systems, energy harvesting. In fact the whole concept according to NARC is to see the soldier as a system of systems.
Image Source: NARC; Physiacal Optics.
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