Company insight
The MNB delivers uncompromised navigational support for military missions – a robust and effective system worn next to the skin that provides vital information but does not hinder movement. It operates as effectively whether a soldier is walking, running, crawling or crouching. “The vibration around the waist is immediately coupled with direction, even if a soldier is lying or crouching,” explains Vos. “Based on feedback from soldiers we tuned the vibration so it’s strong enough to feel, but not so strong that it becomes annoying. “There are seven motors inside and we can approximately give 12 clock hours for directions,” he adds. “The place of the vibrations indicate the straight line direction to the next waypoint. The system is not like Google Maps, directions are given not taking into account existing infrastructure. The soldier has to plan the actual route.” The waypoints are programmed by the host system and use standard GPS information, which is translated into haptic signals. The soldier system receives a route and executes it, the soldier follows the vibrations and, upon reaching a waypoint, feel a circular flow of haptic signals around the waist to indicate that the (intermediate) waypoint is reached and immeditaly points you to the next waypoint again.
The first step on a promising journey The MNB is the result of a collaboration between Teijin and Elitac, but also derives its performance and durability from intensive testing with the Dutch Ministry of Defence. This enabled Elitac to create a system that can not only be used by soldiers on foot, but can also function in vehicles both on land and water. Soldiers can change
“We very much believe in validation – the proof is in the pudding – so we wanted soldiers to wear it and take it into the field,” adds Van der Leeden. “We have done a lot of testing on motorcycles in unknown territory at high speed – a situation where you don’t want to think about or look at navigational devices, and you don’t want to stand still or be vulnerable. The MNB improves mission safety and accuracy in those scenarios.” Though it greatly improves safety and makes navigation simpler, the MNB is simple and intuitive to use. In testing scenarios, there is typically a calibration and training session of little more than 30 minutes, after which a soldier is ready to head out on operations.
The MNB’s design allows for crucial information to be expressed via haptic technology.
seamlessly from one mode of transportation to another without stopping to navigate. After years of joint testing and development with the Dutch military, the first MNBs were delivered to the Dutch Army in 2020. The MNB is fully compatible and interoperable with the VOSS system – the improved operational soldier system developed for the Dutch military – and provides a robust, comfortable and reliable addition to the existing kit. “We started with funding from the Dutch Army and part of that was provision of users to test the equipment,” explains Vos. “Our first version was very basic, not robust at all, but soldiers walked with it at night and performed tasks in different scenarios. We gradually improved it and tested it with different modes of transportation. We had soldiers operating a small boat and then continue on foot. In another test we had them riding motorcycles.”
“It has proved its value convincingly during field tests,” observed Major Van Veen of the Royal Netherlands Army Defence Centre of Expertise for Soldier and Equipment at the launch of the MNB. “Soldiers reported that they were more aware of their surroundings and found the navigational cues very intuitive. And because it plugs into our own soldier system, there is no learning curve or need for an additional battery.”
Though designed for the Dutch soldier system, the MNB can be delivered with different specifications to integrate with technologies used by forces from other countries. Both Teijin and Elitac have the necessary knowledge to integrate the tech with different armies. They also have the expertise to continue innovating using haptics. “We are also working on a solution for indoor situational awareness,” says Van der Leeden. “Together with firefighters as a starting point, enhancing awareness indoors will also be useful for the military. Entering a building with no map, layout or infrastructure, people are lost as soon as they get inside. With this solution, you can track where your people are, create a path from the moment they enter and follow them inside.” “In a future stage of the project we plan to integrate the MNB and we could lead the people out again because the system can generate the optimal path out,” he adds. “At this moment we have a working proof of concept to accurately position people indoors. When we integrate the MNB with this system it becomes useful for military or SWAT operations.”●
A robust and durable design ensures that it can function in many different warfare scenarios. Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com
www.teijinsmartsafety.com 33
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