SPECIAL FEATURE DSEI RETROSPECTIVE
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The future is in the eye of the engineer
In light of DSEI and the technology that looks to take warfare into the future, Christian Lynn, editor of Electronics, sat down to talk with Jeremy Greaves, vice president of corporate affairs and strategy, Airbus, and a couple of young engineers, Alex Morphew, senior combat systems engineer, and Eirini Trivyza, naval architect, as they look down the scope of future military applications
Christian Lynn: The ideas you’ve come up with are quite advanced: exoskeletons, portable 3D printers, intelligence/militarised drones. How long do you think it will take for the military to adopt these concepts, and more simply, how will be it achieved with modern technology?
Alex Morphew: In terms of a time frame, we’re predicting in the next 50 years. This is a long way down the road, and there is an air of science fiction about these concepts. But this is a deliberate excessiveness: we’re trying to push the boundaries of technical design and engineering, in light of how fast the industry is moving. Our purpose isn’t a detailed study: it’s a cognitive exercise, stimulating a thought process on technology and military grade electronics, prioritising ambitious thinking, pre-empting applications that are on the rise, such as drones.
CL: What would you emphasise in terms of these developments: the idea of arming our forces better, with technology that enhances the tasks that they already perform, or designing technology to prevent the need to use lethal force in the future?
Jeremy Greaves: I believe that the Marines are humbling in this regard, for they are aware that they don’t hold all the answers: rather than thinking institutionally, the armed forces are bringing in the expertise of
8 OCTOBER 2019 | ELECTRONICS
engineers like Alex and Eirini, who have no pre-conception of the military’s circumstances, which brings forward some radical design ideas that the military can absorb and benefit from. We need technology, as it reduces risk and enhances effectiveness.
Eirini Trivyza: Spending time with Marines at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, one can see that it is the people that define the armed forces as a renowned organisation around the world: the training, recruitment. Our intentions are to assist in this process; is there a technology that can help them with carrying surplus supplies, some kind of equipment that enables enhanced stealth capabilities? It’s very much about protecting and augmenting the key asset: the men and women, on the ground, participating in these critical, life-threatening situations.
CL: Optoelectronics are increasingly useful to the military. Do you think there’s potential for augmented and/ or virtual reality to take a front seat in military grade electronics?
AM: In our concepts, we discussed an AR application: a heads-down visor, to provide additional situational information, such as range and areas of contact. Soldiers often talk quite archaically about the ‘Mark One Eyeball’: this AR technology wouldn’t remove the use of the soldier’s eyes, but instead, would enhance visuals to ease their
“Our purpose isn’t a detailed study: it’s a cognitive exercise, stimulating a thought process on technology and military grade electronics”
experience. A principle such as a virtual, thermal application for the detection of IEDs in the ground, is another idea that helps rather than hinders. And of course, UAEs and drones utilise screen displays for their aerial combat manoeuvres. Could this be extracted and used for a human-based application? Perhaps.
CL: How important are young engineers in developing these kinds of technologies? Should they be wary of pushing technology too far? Or is heading towards the threshold of the future an exciting prospect?
Jeremy Greaves, VP of corporate affairs and strategy, Airbus, and Honorary Captain, Royal Navy Reserve
AM: It’s important for ourselves, in our careers and subjective interest, to be given the chance to take our minds away from our day-to-day business, to examine the future and stretch our knowledge. But I do believe there is a genuine concern worth considering in your question. Are we taking technology too far, creating more risks to security? I think this a valid point and introduces a further debate when it comes to developing new technology: the implications of their use, following up the design with onerous testing, to ensure compliancy to relevant legislations.
Eirini Trivyza, naval architect
ET: Young people are living with the technologies that we were envisaging when we were their age. If you posed this same question to engineers back then, I think they would agree that reaching out past the threshold is an important perspective to hold: what is the next step? We need to consciously challenge the electronics industry, to build something exciting and innovative for the future.
Airbus
www.airbus.com / ELECTRONICS
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