Tuesday, November 18, 2008

I-Balling the battlefield

I-Balling the battlefield

An Equipment and Logistics news article
18 Nov 08

A brand new piece of equipment which could allow troops on the front line to see hostile areas in detail before physically entering them may be developed for use in theatre.

The I-Ball concept was born from a proposal submitted to the MOD's Competition of Ideas in 2007, and is a highly-portable, wireless, projectile camera that provides 360-degree video coverage even in flight after being thrown. It gives a steady picture and easy-to-see high-value, high-quality images in real-time video.

The I-Ball, which has been invented by Edinburgh-based Dreampact Ltd, could be fired from a grenade launcher or thrown into a room to give troops in theatre vital information of who - or what - is on the ground.

The Defence Technology and Innovation Centre ran the competition and its Director, Professor Andrew Baird, said:

"The technology behind I-Ball is an exciting new development that has very significant potential across a range of military equipment and operational scenarios, particularly in difficult urban operations.

"The initial development of I-Ball has been successful and shows great promise and we are considering what further development is possible."

Dreampact has developed a new approach to image stabilisation that fully developed could have a wide range of applications across defence - from tanks to micro unmanned air vehicles - as the I-Ball would be versatile enough to operate in temperatures below minus 32 degrees and over 44 degrees.

"Anyone can submit a proposal to us and we can give feedback on proposals within a couple of weeks. The Centre for Defence Enterprise is the Ministry of Defence's way of showing a practical commitment to innovation, to improve the capabilities of the Armed Forces, and to UK Industry."
Dr Helen Almey, Head of the Centre for Defence Enterprise

Paul Thompson, from Dreampact Ltd, said:

"We are delighted that our idea was taken up by the Ministry of Defence's Competition of Ideas - we could not have developed it without that assistance. Although it is in its early stages, we are very excited about the technology's potential to help our troops to be better prepared for battle.

"We have overcome some significant technological challenges in developing the I-Ball technology and it's fantastic that the MOD is working with a small company like us to help develop its future capabilities in battlefield technology."

Building on the successful Competition of Ideas initiative in 2007, the MOD opened the Centre for Defence Enterprise in May 2008 as the place where innovators, entrepreneurs, academics, as well as small, medium or large businesses, can discuss ideas that could contribute to any aspect of the UK's military capability.

Head of the Centre for Defence Enterprise, Dr Helen Almey, said:

"Working with Dreampact Ltd is a very good example of what we are striving to achieve at the Centre for Defence Enterprise. We particularly want to work with small- and medium-size enterprises, talented individuals and academia to ensure that we are able to equip the Armed Forces of the future.

"Anyone can submit a proposal to us and we can give feedback on proposals within a couple of weeks. The Centre for Defence Enterprise is the Ministry of Defence's way of showing a practical commitment to innovation, to improve the capabilities of the Armed Forces, and to UK Industry."


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