L-3 Ruggedized Command and Control Solutions and DriverTech have announced they have entered into an agreement to bundle RCCS’ Adaptive Vehicle Command System software into the DriverTech DT3000A military vehicle computer.
RCCS’ AVCS software integrates electronic onboard diagnostics, maintenance, troubleshooting procedures and a video sensor display with a driver’s full-featured virtual instrument cluster display. Using open standards, the AVCS software is an adaptable, configurable, extensible system designed to provide local or remote access to operational and logistics data. This data is either shown on a dash-mounted display or viewed through standard Web interfaces; the system also provides situational awareness and driver vision enhancement on the same displays.
DriverTech says the DT3000A ruggedized Vehicle Computer System is a fully qualified military truck computer capable of handling the rigors of the modern battlefield, while providing the processing and interface capabilities for combat systems well into the future. L-3 and DriverTech also have agreed to pursue similar opportunities in the commercial market for Class 6, 7 and 8 trucks.
“The possibility that DriverTech and L-3 can take 20 combined years of embedded diagnostic development for the U.S. Army and provide similar capabilities to large trucking fleets through our commercial DT4000 commercial truck computer is very exciting,” says Mark Haslam, founder and chief executive officer of Salt Lake City-based DriverTech. “Imagine the possibility that significant mechanical issues can be determined and accurately reported by a stranded truck driver using the AVCS toolkit and DriverTech’s DT4000 onboard computer.”
“The combined capability of DriverTech’s DT3000A and L-3’s AVCS software will propel the logistical and reporting capability of the tracked and wheeled vehicle into areas only theorized to this point,” says Dr. James Winchester, vice president and general manager of L-3 RCCS. “This is definitely a leap forward for the warfighter and logistics community. The system brings the combination of health management, diagnostics, logistics chain management, driver sensor visualization and situational awareness directly to the crew for the first time in a way that is more cost-effective than ever before.”
L-3 says its AVCS software works by retrieving system information from control modules embedded in the engine, transmission and other systems using the SAE J1708 and/or SAE J1939 databuses. The information is accumulated into an internal database on the DriverTech computer and made available to other components of the AVCS software that, on demand, will display specific gauges on the DriverTech Truck-PC; the same data also is made available to the Web-based decision-tree component of the AVCS software. This AVCS component displays to the vehicle crew an illustrated and interactive troubleshooting guide.
DriverTech’s DT3000A (military) and DT4000 (commercial) Truck-PC products are Windows XP-based computers with multiple interfaces to a truck’s internal diagnostic networks and sensors; DriverTech Truck-PC products also include multiple communication pathways (cellular, satellite, WiFi). The video-processing component of the DT3000A and DT4000 computers also can accept video imaging from L-3’s night-vision camera systems and display a thermal image to the vehicle operator.
