News Review: WetPC and Thales join forces | ADM Nov 06
Canberra-based WetPC Pty Ltd has signed a Collaborative Agreement with Thales Australia to jointly develop advanced technology for controlling electronic devices on the ADF's Austeyr F88 rifle.
Core of the technology will be WetPC's patented Kord(r) Interface Technology (Kord(r) IT) - a generic human machine interface that was originally developed to enable research divers at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to control the WetPC(c) underwater computer.
During 2005 WetPC and Thales (then ADI Limited) developed a prototype Rifle Input Control (RIC) that demonstrated how a soldier might rapidly operate a variety of electronic devices using only one hand and without having to put his rifle down or take his eyes off the task.
Under the Agreement Thales will provide funds to further develop the RIC into a fully programmable smart controller that can link to and control a wide range of devices on the soldier's weapon. WetPC will also undertake a performance trial to obtain base-line data on the benefits of the technology for improving the capability of the frontline soldier.
The results of the trial were scheduled to be presented jointly at the Land Warfare Conference in Brisbane last month.
WetPC's Managing Director, Dr Peter Moran, said he was "delighted that his company was working in partnership with Thales Australia to produce world leading technology which has strong application for use not only in the Australian Army but a number of overseas defence forces".
"The device can be likened to a single remote control for TV, DVD, Video and set top box that could be operated quickly and easily without [the user] having to look down," Moran said.
WetPC Pty Ltd is commercialising Kord(r) IT under a worldwide exclusive licence from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. It comprises a 5-button hand held controller and a patented chordic graphical user interface (CGUI). The core of the CGUI, referred to as "What You See Is What You Press" (WYSIWYP), has been protected by patents lodged in some 20 countries. Kord(r) IT enables fast control of mobile computing devices, with one hand, under any condition and without always having to look at a screen.
WetPC is privately owned and has formed partnerships with a number of companies both within Australia and overseas. The WetPC team includes: Sydney-based industrial design firm Tiller + Tiller, and Canberra-based Ranicar Nicholls Consulting and Terry J. Newman Pty Ltd.
Copyright - Australian Defence Magazine, November 2006