Rough and Tumble

Rugged computers would be more popular if makers would update them.

Rugged computers would be more popular if makers would update them.

The market for rugged computers designed to withstand severe environmental conditions has been dominated by the Defense Department, whose forces need tough computers to withstand the knocks, vibrations, sand and blazing hot temperatures in Iraq.

But some services have begun to buy fewer rugged computers in favor of standard laptops. The Marine Corps, for example, has found that plain vanilla, commercial computer hardware has performed well under the environmental stresses in Iraq, says Ken Beutel, program manager for computing platforms and service at the Marine Corps Systems Command. Off-the-shelf laptops have performed so well, that the command recently issued a solicitation for 57,000 of them, of which only 9,000 need to meet the rugged standard.

One reason could be cost. The price of standard laptops is far less than $1,000, but rugged computers typically cost nearly $4,000 each.

Nevertheless, the rugged computer still is a sought-after piece of equipment at Defense. When the Marines needed to equip tactical air control units, naval gunfire spot teams and artillery forward observer teams, who work with infantry units and call in supporting arms fire, they tapped DRS Technologies Inc., based in Parsippany, N.J., to supply its rugged tablet computers. DRS also won a $98.3 million contract this year to provide its JV5 ultra-rugged computer and display systems-mounted in vehicles that are part of the Army's Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below program-and for its Blue Force Tracking technology, which shows soldiers the locations of friendly and enemy forces. Some of those systems are installed in Bradley fighting vehicles.

Standard computers have taken some market share from the rugged hardware, but tough computers always will be the product of choice when failure cannot be tolerated, says Tim Hill, product marketing manager for General Dynamics Itronix.Typical users of rugged Itronix laptops include special operations forces, which he cannot identify for national security reasons, and soldiers involved withWarfighter Information Network-Tactical, the Army's battlefield communications system.

The Army's Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4) is one of the largest consumers of rugged computers, with more than 14,000 semi-rugged laptops at medical units primarily in Iraq and Af-ghanistan. MC4 integrates, fields and supports a health information management system for tactical medical forces. Lt. Col. Edward Clayson, commander of medical communications, says off-the-shelf computers do not meet Defense Department standards for battlefield conditions, including adverse weather, dust and smoke.

"Many tactical units are deployed in various harsh environments, [and] we need to have a semi-ruggedized system to meet the demands of soldiers' activities and elements of nature," he says.

MC4 uses Panasonic's Toughbook computers, says Peter Romness, the company's Army national sales manager. Toughbooks also are carried by Air Force joint terminal attack controllers, who provide forward air traffic control functions, and by the Air Force's Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver suite of equipment, which provides video images of the battle space.

The rugged computer market could be expanding, as evidenced by Dell's introduction of its first rugged laptop in January 2007, rival vendors say. Hill, of Itronix, says Dell's interest "completely validates the space." Daniel Bounds, senior marketing manager for commercial laptops at Dell, knew customers were looking for rugged mobile devices, but in the past they had to rely on systems based on outdated technology that had limited performance and functionality, long delivery time frames and higher life-cycle costs. Dell built its rugged computer line around the guts of its commercial Latitude notebook series. The company believes it can sell the rugged computers to Defense and to civilian agencies such as the Forest Service and Border Patrol.

But if the rugged computer is to remain popular, manufacturers must update the systems, advises Melissa Payton, director of sales and marketing for Ridgeline Technology, a small woman-owned business that resells rugged computers from Panasonic and Itronix. They should have larger screens that work as well in full daylight as they do inside a tent and include readers for Defense's Common Access Card, she notes. Smaller rugged computers such as the Itronix GoBook MR-1, which is about the size of a small jewelry box, should have all the capability of larger machines, including the Microsoft XP operating system, Payton says.

NEXT STORY: Forget Something?

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.