Readying Patriot missiles for launch? There's an iPhone app for that, too
Pressing the keys on the mobile device won't actually launch the missile, but it will start a 3-D application to teach Patriot Missile crews about positioning and readying the Patriot system in order to launch and fire.
Apple iPhones continue on the path to ubiquity: They can now be found in the hands of missile crews .
Pressing the keys on the mobile device won’t actually launch a missile, but it will start a 3D application to teach the Army's Patriot Missile crews about positioning and readying the Patriot system in order to launch and fire, writes Jeff Clabaugh of the Washington Business Journal.
Related article:
iPhone users get government search, 'snitch' apps
The application also includes video of crews in action, animations and illustrations.
C2 Technologies of Vienna, Va. developed the new application as part of the Army’s Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications program, according to United Press International. It was developed using the Unity 3D game development platform and is the first segment in a series of seven iPhone applications that will be developed for the Army crews. C2 is also creating classroom training lessons for instructors.
Why train crews on the iPhone?
"Mobile apps on handheld devices allow the soldier to train any time, any place, and can provide access to critical information in the field,” C2’s CEO Dolly Oberoi told the Washington Business Journal.
Mobile applications also leverage the ability to train outside the traditional classroom, improve training effectiveness and reducing required resources, she said to UPI.