By Monique Randolph, MCSC Corporate Communications

Marine Corps Systems Command’s Marine Air-Ground Task Force Command, Control and Communications Program Management Office, or MC3, is considering a technology initiative that would provide voice-controlled command and control capability for Marines on the move.

If adopted, the technology would allow Marines to use voice commands to operate command and control, or C2, software applications and equipment virtually “hands free” when traveling in tactical military vehicles over rugged terrain.

“Marines in the backseats of these vehicles are bounced around and shaken up, and the laptops they use have a particularly small keyboard interface,” said Capt. Alexis Harvey, Technology Transition Office engineer. “It’s challenging for the user to have the fine motor skills to operate the software applications they need when they’re off road.”

The current interface with ruggedized, tactical laptops requires staff Marines to use a stylus, mouse or keyboard to access applications. The Technology Transition Office, which falls under MC3, is working with Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in Charleston, S.C., to explore the feasibility of using speech control as an alternative.

“If you’re at the halt, it’s sometimes faster to grab your mouse and click on an application, or zoom in or out on a map,” said Basil Moncrief, lead for the Technology Transition Office. “But if you’re on the move, you’re geared up, the vehicle is bouncing all over the place, you’re wearing gloves, and you have ammo strapped to the front of your vest, it’s not so simple. We’re trying to make it easier for Marines to operate this capability on the move.” 

Some aspects of the voice-controlled technology are also applicable to increased efficiency in static command posts and Combat Operations Centers, Moncrief said.

MCSC recently fielded a new, modular command and control system called Networking On-the-Move, or NOTM, to I Marine Expeditionary Force. NOTM was designed to be readily integrated into several different types of tactical vehicles, and the voice-controlled technology could further enhance NOTM’s capabilities.

“The next step is to introduce this technology to the Marines currently using NOTM in the field and find out what they think, because they’re the ones who would use it,” Moncrief said. “Do we know that this is the answer? Well, we know it could be part of the answer. This is just a first step.”