Wireless distributed multimedia communications networks for the digital battlefield

The Focused Research Initiative (FRI) Group from Purdue University, the University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, Magnavox, and Hughes Network Systems (HNS) began work in July of 1995 on a five year program. The FRI Group is uniquely integrating several Department of Defense programs and the research and educational programs at three major universities, while achieving the benefits of collaboration with industry and the military. The concept of the digital battlefield requires digitization of all the information on the battlefield needed for the conduct of battle and mission accomplishment. Software is used to extract the information needed by a tactical commander, logistics commander, or individual soldier from the databases and to reformat, filter, and fuse the data to forms usable for each particular function reducing information overload. Functions include command and control, target detection and recognition, planning, analysis maps and overlays, intelligence, logistics, personnel, and position location. Wireless, distributed communications networks are required to acquire information from sources and to transmit it between databases and battlefield entities. Technology for distributed multimedia communications networks must be found to support the multimedia transmission of speech, video, high resolution maps and overlays, and other digital data in a highly mobile military environment requiring low probability of intercept and jamming resistance.