American soldiers in battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq are now using iPhones and iPod devices to help transfer crucial information while on duty, according to Newsweek.
The report claims that the US military is now requiring soldiers to be linked by electronic networks to transmit information, and that commercial products such as iPhones and iPods are perfect for what they need.
Director of Army Intelligence, Lt. Col. Jim Ross, was quoted by the story as saying that an iPod “may be all that they need”. The soldiers are using the devices to add phrases to language translation software, annotate maps and add voice recordings to photos such as, “Have you seen this man?”
The use of the iPod in military operations is also on the rise. The Pentagon is funding technology that will make it easier for soldiers to add information to electronic networks. The narines are funding an iPhone app that will allow soldiers to upload photos of suspects with written reports in to a database, that can also match faces.
The Department of Defense is also increasing funding for iPod and iPhone apps that allow soldiers to have teleconferences with intelligence agents, allow snipers to use a “ballistics calculator” and turn the iPod into a remote control for a bomb-disposal robot.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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