A new mobile app aims to connect field operatives in the U.S. Special Operations Command with central command for quicker, more detailed reports and less equipment.
The app is being developed through an alliance between CrowdOptic and SOFWERX, an intermediary partnership between Doolittle Institute and the SpecialOps. It will enable a team to report to central command about specified targets, including a live-stream of the target and the target’s precise GPS location – fixed or moving – as calculated by CrowdOptic’s algorithms.
Currently, personal cell phones are the primary source of communication for field operatives.
“Exploring capabilities like those provided by CrowdOptic’s algorithms gives us the potential to add value to indigenous data streams without having to deploy expensive or sensitive military equipment,” said Cameron Hunt, SOFWERX’s chief information officer.
The app uses focal-clustering technology, which makes it possible to broadcast and pinpoint critical locations.
The technology could be used in other instances in which location and response times are important. Law enforcement officials, firefighters, and first responders can use it to identify locations in emergency situations.
“This alliance with SOFWERKS is the reason why I conceptualize and start software companies,” said Jon Fisher, CrowdOptic’s chief executive officer and founder. “It is an honor to see our technology applied to serve such a mission-critical need.”
CrowdOptic’s FieldApp is a public-facing Android app powered by the same technology. Civilians can use it to track points of interest for surveying, field estimation, and geo-coordination activities. The public app is still in beta, but it is slated for release at SOFWERX’s 1208 Rapid Prototyping Event in October. Beta testers are needed.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense