[May 25, 2012] Fort Bliss Gains EDGE: Troops, Engineers Develop New Radio Tweet May 25, 2012 (El Paso Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- When Army soldiers next week finish weeks-long testing of about 600 high-tech, battlefield communication radios during special exercises on the vast desert training grounds of Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range, many of the soldiers will head into a new metal building on the post to help engineers determine how the radios performed. The metal building is the $1.8 million, 10,000-square-foot Fort Bliss EDGE Innovation Center, which opened Thursday on East Fort Bliss with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The center was built and equipped by General Dynamics, a sponsor of the EDGE Innovation Network -- a virtual network of 270 companies, universities, including the University of Texas at El Paso, and nonprofit and government organizations aimed at developing new battlefield technologies. "This facility will become a hub for General Dynamics and our strong EDGE member companies and the full organization to rapidly produce new technologies' support of pre- and post-military deployment activities," Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics C4 Systems, told dignitaries, community leaders, and soldiers as a strong wind whipped the United States and Texas flags behind him. It's the 12th Innovation Center opened by General Dynamics and the EDGE Network. But it's only the third at a military post. The Fort Bliss facility will be used to get soldiers' feedback on General Dynamics-developed Rifleman Radios and other communications systems, including the expanded Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, Marzilli said after his speech. The facility is part of a new way of developing weapons and battlefield communications systems, Marzilli said. It's part of keeping soldiers involved throughout the development and deployment of new systems, he said. Army Chief Warrant Officer Demetrius Mansfield, a network management technician at Fort Bliss, said he liked what he saw and heard at Thursday's event about General Dynamics' Rifleman Radio and other communications devices. "It's outstanding if the wave of the future allows soldiers to get data" and communications fast, in "real time," Mansfield said. "Now things are being designed with the war fighter in mind." General Dynamics' officials said the radio, which looks and feels like old walkie-talkies, is the first designed for individual soldiers to have voice contact with their squad members and leaders. Communications systems generally have been given to squad leaders and designated communications specialists. The radio communications are done via a headset and within a secure, wireless network that only the soldiers and military leaders can access, said Mike Amster, business development manager for General Dynamics C4 Systems, based in the Phoenix area. The radio has a Global Positioning System, or GPS, device to let squad leaders track soldier movements. The radio can easily be upgraded by attaching a candy-bar-size computer to give the radio video and data capabilities, Amster said. A smartphone-like device also could be attached to it, he said. General Dynamics' Marzilli said the radio is "like having a cell (phone) tower on your hip." The Army recently ordered 13,077 of the radios, which have been used by a squad in Afghanistan, Marzilli said. The radios cost about $3,000 each, he said. Tony Morone, director of technology for Intific, an Austin company that's part of the EDGE Network, was at Thursday's event to try to sell Army officials on the company's RealWorld Neurobridge -- a system that uses software to produce battlefield scenes and brain sensors attached to a soldier's head to view brain activity on a video screen during battle simulations. "This essentially is a video game with a purpose," Morone said. The Innovation Center opening was a good time to show it off, and hopefully get Army officials interested in testing it, he said. Vic Kolenc may be reached at [email protected]; 546-6421. Follow Vic Kolenc on Twitter @vickolenc.More information: gdc4s.com; edge-innovation.com ___ (c)2012 the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas) Visit the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas) at www.elpasotimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]