Military Embedded Systems

Mission computer for day or night views

Product

April 12, 2015

John M. McHale III

Editorial Director

Military Embedded Systems

Mission computer for day or night views

The TacView Portable Mission Display (PMD) from Esterline is a compact, self-contained mission computer designed to enhance situational awareness for military, paramilitary, law-enforcement, and civil aircrews.

The TacView Portable Mission Display (PMD) from Esterline is a compact, self-contained mission computer designed to enhance situational awareness for military, paramilitary, law-enforcement, and civil aircrews. Its high-contrast display allows viewing in both day and night lighting conditions, and is fully dimmable from 800 to 0.5 nits (a unit of brightness also called candela per square meter). TacView also has a rugged design and can withstand high vibration and temperature extremes associated with demanding airborne operations. A removable minimum 64 GB solid-state memory ensures continuous operation and enables immediate declassification of important data when necessary. The computer, say Esterline officials, links crews to those on a networked battlefield and eases mission planning in the paperless cockpit.

The computer’s user interface offers single- or dual-touch input capability, while its multifunction bezel buttons are designed to accommodate gloved-hand tactile feedback. TacView also comes equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor with integrated video-processing capability, which allows multiple applications to run simultaneously. The PMD’s software environment is supported by a Windows 7 operating system, which enables the air crew to select applications best suited to their conditions. The applications include flight planning software, target imagery data, live-feed video, and two digital voice channels. Additional applications are available that provide note-taking, image sharing, post-flight maintenance debrief, mission rehearsal/review, charting, and embedded training.

 

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