Indian army gets handheld PCs called SATHI

[santpaul]

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2004 01:46:39 AM]
NEW DELHI: This home-grown technology could prove to be one of Indian army’s best “sathi’’!

Picture Indian army soldiers on the battlefront carrying indigenously developed handheld PCs called Sathi, constantly tracking each other’s positions and even jointly planning moves on the front as well as sharing details on maps with command headquarters. Sounds futuristic? Well, a pilot project has already been implemented in J& K and the army is now extending the technology to other areas.

For the first time, Indian army has outsourced an R&D project to a private company instead of developing at DRDO. And there’s much more to the gadget over and above its desi appeal as other armies are believed to have evinced interest in the device. Indian army also explored other options like RPDA from Talla Tech used by the US army in Iraq but zeroed on the much cheaper and better integrated Sathi.

Developed by Encore, which designed India’s first handheld computer, Sathi is an integrated battle computer with Global Positioning System (GPS) and radio, customised Geographical Information System (GIS) – a navigational tool displaying military maps and location of other devices – and enabling field sketches with a customised symbol library for map marking. Weighing 875 gm, it can easily fit into a soldier’s palm and also has a remotely operated self-destruction and activation feature for preventing misuse by unauthorized persons.

“Encore developed and manufactured this handheld computer for deployment by the Indian Army in battlefield surveillance, target designation, fire control and battlefield management systems, in a record two years,’’ says Samyeer Metrani, head (Mobile Computing Products)

Indian army has already acquired 120 handhelds in a pilot project at J &K and will now extend this to other areas. Having initiated by General Mehta, army commander Northern command, the battlefield handheld PC managed to impress the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who remarked while talking to forces, “When I saw a solider holding the BAAZ (army’s codename for Sathi), I am reminded of the smart solider of the 21st century.’’

Been developed exclusively for the Indian army initially, Sathi can now be sold to other armies too. Its developers at Encore claim that they are already in preliminary talks with many armies around the world. Encore also claims that this is the first army project to be developed from conception to product stage in less than two years.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-968516,curpg-2.cms

I like the fact that it's a private company who made it and HAL
also,anybody know how many soldiers are going to be equipped with Sathi

and anybody have picture of this sathi??

 

[Red aRRow]

Please add your comments to the article as per the rules.

 

[srirangan]

Hey,
This is great news. Got any more info?

 

[adsH]

not a good idea sri would agree with me here, it could lead to increased reliance on the tech and relying on something as a personal handheld device while trying to execute a mission is not practical, your opponent could or would certainly use jammers to jam com frequencies. if they get hold of even one of these devices the whole network could be compromised, i'd sujest useing a biometric Ofthe shelf PDA with an of the shelf OS and customized tamper proof software that would scramble the handhelds data in the fist sign of unauthorized use. oh an i think this is a good device for SP foces not normal forces, even tho i think most modern SP forces carry such devices specially GPS systems.

 

[Pathfinder-X]

not a good idea sri would agree with me here, it could lead to increased reliance on the tech and relying on something as a personal handheld device while trying to execute a mission is not practical, your opponent could or would certainly use jammers to jam com frequencies. if they get hold of even one of these devices the whole network could be compromised, i'd sujest useing a biometric Ofthe shelf PDA with an of the shelf OS and customized tamper proof software that would scramble the handhelds data in the fist sign of unauthorized use. oh an i think this is a good device for SP foces not normal forces, even tho i think most modern SP forces carry such devices specially GPS systems.

When I talked to a U.S army captain few months back ago, he said that digitalized soldiers are more aware of what is going on around them and therefore making them more effective in combat. These are made to cope with the future battlefield conditions, and jamming are also taken into the consideration. I couldn't get much details out of him since some of the things are not supposed to be shared.

Anyways, a high tech force is always more effective than a WWII style military such as N.Koreans. However, it requires better trained personal to effectively put the high tech equipment to use.

 

[adsH]

thats one of the reasons why all forces aspire to include such technologies they assume better performance. But i beg to differ, if technology is not employed properly it can be quiet counter productive, thats one of the reasons the US high-tech stuff is taking so long and is not just in the form of a PDA. and requires a bag pack style carrier. these things require careful thinking and security of information is very important. Expecting that your tamper proof safety device would kick inn when the need arise is not enough, trials need to be conducted and hours have to be logged onn such systems before system such as these can be deployed. most networks can be jammed, and trust me when i say any Computer can be hacked or infected with a worm type virus. in a integrated system such as a networked soldiers PC devices. it would result in chaos if such an attack was to occur while the army is actively engaged in war. Pathfinder it not just a matter of handing over a handheld device to soldier and expecting him to use it in battle feild, such a change A: would require substancial change in the overall command structure (as you would be aware of) and B: the security is the most important issue a determined hacker would be able to hack almost any system. you would literally have to pull the plug on the machine to keep a hacker away.

 

[srirangan]

There's only one way the ball is rolling and that is to embed as much hi-tech as possible. Obviously the hand helps they'll use is not the same as the one's we are using, they'll be modified and customized and hell who klnows a s/w powerhouse like India might be relying on a totally indegenious platform of which little might be known to hackers.

Trust me, there won't be any hackers sitting around onto their laptops in the middle of the warzone. We are talking about a warzone remember. Yeah the enemy will try to jam, but that is unevitable and you'll have to look for a counter for the counter. Just as anything else. In the end, not a bad idea at all and will result in a much informed soldier and information is everything.

 

[armage]

There might be hackers it depends...
I read in this bool called "Red Dragon Rising" and it say's during time of war the PLA might employ hackers to cut US power grid, sabotage treatment plants, open valves on dams .........
I was just wonder is it possible for someone to hack into a GPS sat....

 

[Red aRRow]

I was just wonder is it possible for someone to hack into a GPS sat....

The command center is at Shriver (spellings) air force base in the U.S. with passive control stations at places like Marshall Islands, Diego Garcia etc.
So basically all the synchronization information and ephemeris data is uplinked/downlinked through the AFB. I am sure the communication is encrypted with some friggin long key or some long pseudo random codes(even the P (y) code, carried by the L1 and L2 bands, is so long it takes one week to complete) but theoretically it could be possible to hack into it.

 

[adsH]

There's only one way the ball is rolling and that is to embed as much hi-tech as possible. Obviously the hand helps they'll use is not the same as the one's we are using, they'll be modified and customized and hell who klnows a s/w powerhouse like India might be relying on a totally indegenious platform of which little might be known to hackers.

Trust me, there won't be any hackers sitting around onto their laptops in the middle of the warzone. We are talking about a warzone remember. Yeah the enemy will try to jam, but that is unevitable and you'll have to look for a counter for the counter. Just as anything else. In the end, not a bad idea at all and will result in a much informed soldier and information is everything.

i do agree with you on this Battle feild information delivered to every soldier is helpfull, but only ot an extent you need to compartmentalize the information to prevent misuse of information by a single unit. Not all information regarding positions of soldiers should be displayed.

 

[santpaul]

I heard that the sathi was used in combat against terriosts a month ago.

anybody got any info on that

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec022004/b6.asp
This article has more details on Sathi and The other handheld Pc called Chotta

 

[arjun]

any one have idea how many much more things drdo is making how many projects they have r they making the real things which is really use full ?

 

[onlineguru]

Here is a link on SAATHI....I hope it is not a WHITE HAATHI.

http://www.ncoretech.com/sathi/index.html

Guru

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2004 01:46:39 AM]
NEW DELHI: This home-grown technology could prove to be one of Indian army’s best “sathi’’!

Picture Indian army soldiers on the battlefront carrying indigenously developed handheld PCs called Sathi, constantly tracking each other’s positions and even jointly planning moves on the front as well as sharing details on maps with command headquarters. Sounds futuristic? Well, a pilot project has already been implemented in J& K and the army is now extending the technology to other areas.

For the first time, Indian army has outsourced an R&D project to a private company instead of developing at DRDO. And there’s much more to the gadget over and above its desi appeal as other armies are believed to have evinced interest in the device. Indian army also explored other options like RPDA from Talla Tech used by the US army in Iraq but zeroed on the much cheaper and better integrated Sathi.

Developed by Encore, which designed India’s first handheld computer, Sathi is an integrated battle computer with Global Positioning System (GPS) and radio, customised Geographical Information System (GIS) – a navigational tool displaying military maps and location of other devices – and enabling field sketches with a customised symbol library for map marking. Weighing 875 gm, it can easily fit into a soldier’s palm and also has a remotely operated self-destruction and activation feature for preventing misuse by unauthorized persons.

“Encore developed and manufactured this handheld computer for deployment by the Indian Army in battlefield surveillance, target designation, fire control and battlefield management systems, in a record two years,’’ says Samyeer Metrani, head (Mobile Computing Products)

Indian army has already acquired 120 handhelds in a pilot project at J &K and will now extend this to other areas. Having initiated by General Mehta, army commander Northern command, the battlefield handheld PC managed to impress the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who remarked while talking to forces, “When I saw a solider holding the BAAZ (army’s codename for Sathi), I am reminded of the smart solider of the 21st century.’’

Been developed exclusively for the Indian army initially, Sathi can now be sold to other armies too. Its developers at Encore claim that they are already in preliminary talks with many armies around the world. Encore also claims that this is the first army project to be developed from conception to product stage in less than two years.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-968516,curpg-2.cms

I like the fact that it's a private company who made it and HAL
also,anybody know how many soldiers are going to be equipped with Sathi

and anybody have picture of this sathi??

 

[arjun]

any one have idea how many much more things drdo is making how many projects they have r they making the real things which is really use full ?

hey really looking good look good india is ok in this filds about satelite and computers things so it is must be ok nice thing looks ok

 

[insas556]

Indian Company develops Hand-Held integrated battle field computer for Indian Army.

Jawans Get

A High-Tech Sathi To Roam Around





Publication: Economic Times Delhi; Date: Dec 23, 2004;



A HAND-HELD PC FOR KEEPING IN TOUCH
Jawans Get A High-Tech Sathi To Roam Around
[font=Arial,Bold]

Pragati Verma NEW DELHI 22 DECEMBER

THIS home-grown technology could prove to be one of Indian army’s best "sathi’’! on the battlefront carrying indigenously developed handheld PCs called Sathi, constantly tracking each other’s positions and even jointly planning moves on the front as well as sharing details on maps with commandheadquarters. Sounds futuristic? Well, a pilot project has already been implemented in J& K and the army is now extending the technology to other areas.

For the first time, Indian army has outsourced an R&D project to a private company instead of developing at DRDO. And there’s much more to the gadget over and above its desi appeal as other armies are believed to have evinced interest in the device. Indian army also explored other options like RPDA from Talla Tech used by the US army in Iraq but zeroed on the much cheaper and better integrated Sathi.

Developed by Encore, which designed India’s first handheld computer, Sathi is an integrated battle computer with Global Positioning System (GPS) and radio, customised Geographical Information System (GIS) – a navigational tool displaying military maps and location of other devices – and enabling field sketches with a customised symbol library for map marking. Weighing 875 gm, it can easily fit into a soldier’s palm and also has a remotely operated self-destruction and activation feature for preventing misuse by unauthorized persons.

"Encore developed and manufactured this handheld computer for deployment by the Indian Army in battlefield surveillance, target designation, fire control and battlefield management systems, in a record two years,’’ says

Samyeer Metrani, head (Mobile Computing Products), Encore Software. Indian army has already acquired 120 handhelds in a pilot project at J &K and will now extend this to other areas. Having initiated by General Mehta, army commander Northern command, the battlefield handheld PC managed to impress the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who remarked while talking to forces, "When I saw a solider holding the BAAZ (army’s codename for Sathi), I am reminded of the smart solider of the 21st century.’’

Been developed exclusively for the Indian army initially, Sathi can now be sold to other armies too. Its developers at Encore claim that they are already in preliminary talks with many armies around the world.Encore also claims that this is the first army project to be developed from conception to product stage in less than two years.

Good to see that the Indian Army has been allowed to bypass DRDO and manage and source the product on its own. Indigenous equipment of this nature will be cheaper, better preserve secrecy and a fillip to the IA attempts at C4I.The Indian private sector has tremendous potential in quite a few hi-tech field in the dfence sector. The important thing for indian defence planners is to ensure proper follow up and reasonable profits/returns to the company. Perhaps the Govt could now start greater funding pvt sector initiatives too and send a message to the DRDO to wake up.
The company claims it to be a world first, and having multiple capabilities on info sharing,transmission and remote deletion/self destruct feature .
Details may be seen at:
http://www.ncoretech.com/sathi/
http://www.ncoretech.com/sathi/pdf/brochue.pdf


[/font]