15 Must-Have App ideas from SOF Operators and Unmanned Vehicle Systems Apps Highlight Development Slate
08:12 GMT, August 22, 2011 WASHINGTON | Special Operations Apps, the smart-device CamoScience innovator, has announced the plans to launch the SF App Store, which will put advanced technologies directly into the hands of U.S. warfighters. Special Operations Apps (SOA), which developed the CamoScience App for MW Research & Development, inc., uses the "technology push and market pull" of the most popular smart devices like the iPhone, Android, and iPad, to develop customized Special Operations applications on common platforms already familiar to SF operators. "It is a certainty that mobile smart devices will be adopted military-wide, with Special Operations Forces deserving of the quickest approval based on their needs and responsibilities," said K. Dominic Cincotti, president of Special Operations Apps and the inventor of CamoScience. "It’s clear that SOF needs a Central Marketplace for custom apps, and certain elements of the commercial sector are the most nimble in providing this," said David Mullins, team leader of SOA’s subject matter experts. "We and our partners are stepping up to the challenge." the SF App Store will include new applications made within SOA development protocols, according to Cathlena Spencer, SOA’s chief technology officer, "which means taking full advantage of what these new smart devices can really do: geo-locating, augmented reality, hi-def video, even 3D. "the SF App Store will also serve as the commercial gatekeeper for useful apps created by other developers to meet specific operator requests and as an incubator responding directly to need statements and wish lists from operators," she said. SOA is in talks with app developers, operators with specialized needs, and defense companies looking to utilize mobile smart devices and special operations apps to remain current in the latest wave of technology revolutions. Unmanned vehicle assets are getting special attention from SOA, said mark Tocci, SOA vice president for business development. "Special Operations Apps are the new means that SOF can access and control unmanned vehicle systems as needed down range with ground-truth precision," Tocci said. "the unmanned systems are the eyes and ears of the SOF, and the operators can now be in control of that through mobile smart devices. the operator can have better, quicker striking capability through these apps. "These Special Operations Apps place the SOF warfighter back in the forefront of the cyberspace battlescape by enabling the operator of the UAV, UGV or Robo-boat to be pilot/controller and at the spear tip of battle." C4IT — command, control, computers, communications, information technology — is often outside of the SOF warrior’s direct control, Mullins said, "so shortening the information pipeline is the best advance." the first slate of application developments — the 15 Must-Have SF Apps — were created to: • Enhance Combat Performance • Sharpen Situational Awareness • Increase Survivability • Improve Mobility • Reduce "the Load" "the current App Store/App Market Model won’t work for military or SF Apps, because of the intrinsic differences between civilian and SOF App needs," Spencer said. "the Commercial App Stores can rely on millions of people to download and subsidize apps. SOA doesn’t expect an ‘Angry Birds’ level of downloads for our Apps. "SOA doesn’t build Apps for the mass market, we build for a select group," she said, "and we know our end users understand and appreciate that we build with only their needs in mind." SOA’s CamoScience was featured in CNN and NBC news programs last month, in stories that focused on the next-generation camouflage capabilities it affords to military and hunting/outdoor markets as well as flexing the power of these lightweight smart devices with feature-rich app attributes, including geo-positioning, augmented reality overlays and Area of Operation imagery. CamoScience was developed from two of MW R&D’s patent-pending technologies, Photo-Real and Photo-Stealth, new camouflage processes introduced by Cincotti in 2007 and designed initially for the unique Special Forces requirements. To develop CamoScience, the MW R&D Apps Team paired with NASA veteran Dr. Craig Hunter, who, with his brother Todd founded Hunter Research & Technology. the Hunter brothers are renowned as the minds behind the Theodolite App for the iPhone 4, the best-selling navigation application. Special Operations Apps was launched in May, with the release of the CamoScience app by MW Research and Development, inc. CamoScience is a photo application native to the Apple iPad 2/iPhone 4, with its Android counterpart soon to be released. Special Operations Apps — a company affiliated with, but independent of MW Research and Development, inc. — designs and fields applications specifically for warfighter mobile devices, touchscreens, laptops, and smartphones. Cincotti, who founded MW R&D, has developed more than a dozen patent-pending CCD technologies. as MW R&D president, Cincotti is credited with creating Photographic Camouflage, camera-derived camo design that is an orders-of-magnitude advance over paint and pattern concealment. using site-specific, digitally enhanced GEOINT imaging, Cincotti has developed a cluster of intellectual properties, including Photo-Stealth, Photo-Real, T.R.I.G.G.E.R., RO.U.T.E.S., MW Gripz, Photo Veil, 3D Hot Targets, P.I.R.a.T.E., and P.I.R.a.T.E. 3D. At Special Operations Apps, Cathlena Spencer, who the led the commercial-application team for CamoScience, serves as chief technology officer. mark Tocci, a former Ranger and patent-pending inventor, is vice president of business development. David Mullins, a former Special Forces operator with counter-terrorism and HALO experience, leads in-house subject matter experts. Cincotti, in addition to his duties at Special Operations Apps, continues as president of MW R&D. AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2011 is the premier forum for reviewing, assessing, and discussing the current state of the unmanned systems market. the event brings together more than 6500 attendees, including key leaders and decision-makers in government and industry, defense and commercial operators, program managers, policy makers, scientists, and researchers. SOA’s David Mullins and mark Tocci are on site at the AUVSI event to schedule appointments with companies, military personnel, and key industry insiders. "AUVSI 2011 has been a great event for SOA," Tocci said. "We are more confident than ever that Unmanned Systems and mobile Special Operations Apps that allow ‘human-in-the-loop’ performance for SOF unmanned assets are the current solution and future standard."