Development of the TACCIMS video tactical interface (TVTI). Extending video to the battlefield

The command and control capability of an army is only as good as its ability to manage and process information. What better way is there to manage and process data than to have face-to-face contact between commanders and subordinates. By providing video teleconferencing (VTC) to the battlefield, commanders and subordinates are capable of exchanging important information face-to-face, in real time, such as: documents; changes in battlefield maps; and site briefings. The US Army Information System Command's Information Management System Agency (ISMA), approached Booz, Allen and Hamilton with a request to develop a device capable of interfacing a commercial video teleconferencing system with army tactical communications equipment. The interface device, known as the TACCIMS video tactical interface (TVTI), was subsequently designed, developed, and tested. The paper describes the events leading to the development of the TVTI. It also describes the development phases of the design and operation that lead to the third and final version of the TVTI, the TVTI(V)3.