Bezdrátové notebooky XC6250 Pro se vznášejí při testování s Air Force

Bezdrátové notebooky XC6250 Pro se vznášejí při testování s Air Force

01/02/2001

Torture Tests at Nellis AFB Prove Itronix Can Take the Heat; F-16 Maintenance Chiefs Select Itronix Pro as Beta Test Platform for Flightline Maintenance Software

Save for the temperature—an eye-popping, flower-wilting 113 degrees Fahrenheit under cloudless, sapphire blue skies—it might have been a scene at the local CompUSA. Five brand-new laptop computers, powered up side by side, were dutifully displaying their wares while prospective customers poked and prodded, looking for the best buy.

These customers, however, were no ordinary Saturday shoppers. Each was a highly trained U.S. Air Force specialist attempting to determine, through organized testing, which hardened Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS in Air Force parlance) laptop computer would be durable enough for use by some of the most demanding maintenance personnel in the world.

As with many military contracts, the stakes are high. Unit sales numbering in the tens of thousands could be involved over the next several years, as the Air Force moves to standardize portable computing equipment for its maintenance and field personnel from San Antonio to Saudi Arabia. Working on sophisticated military aircraft including Stealth bombers and fighters, USAF specialists face a wide variety of peacetime and battle conditions, including boiling heat, sandstorms, driving rain, and darkness, as well as tight spaces, awkward viewing angles, explosive environments and more.

In short, the computers these personnel carry, which provide flight maintenance documentation, parts manuals, and other critical data, have to have the Right Stuff. And the tests administered on the tarmac at Nellis Air Force Base last August were designed to find out which COTS units would survive.

Facing off were the Panasonic Toughbook Models CF-27, CF-25, and CF-17; the Amrel Rocky II PWS; and the Itronix Pro. All five computers had been brought to the Nevada base, home of the F-16 Falcon, for two days of intensive evaluation.

Present during the testing for Itronix were Mike Ortman, director of marketing; Jeff Robinson, commercial sales executive; Corey Harper, sales executive for defense; and Ron Roush, technical sales support manager for aerospace/defense. Also in attendance were representatives from the other manufacturers, as well as various Air Force officers and technicians.

The tests began with routine ease-of-use checks of keyboards, screens, and mouse controls. While all models performed adequately to varying degrees, Itronix gained an early lead by successfully surviving the drop test. The other entrants, in fact, declined to participate.

The final challenge, however, was the most grueling of all—a thermal test conducted outdoors on the F-16 flight line. If any one of the computers could cut it in the desert heat, with high performance jet engines blasting in all directions, the Air Force knew it would have a winner it could count on.

According to Ortman, all entrants had high hopes for their respective products. “The Air Force test coordinators set up a large table,” he explained. “All five notebooks were placed on the tables, along with a specially-designed luggable computer currently in use by Air Force base maintenance personnel. The specifications called for a two hour operations test under midday sun.”

Test personnel turned on the devices, disabled the suspend function on each unit, then situated each so it faced directly into the sun with the screen saver on. Within minutes, screen temperatures reached 148 degrees. All five notebooks were left to bake untouched while flight line personnel went about their routine duties.

After a half-hour, the Air Force specialists began recording their observations. At the 31-minute mark the Panasonic CF-27 had large black circles covering approximately 65% of its screen; the Amrel Rocky II did not fare much better, with roughly 35% of its screen obscured by black at the edges.

Roughly 45 minutes later, testers decided to find out if the screens on the CF-27 and Amrel Rocky II units would recover. They closed the screens for seven minutes; both screens became somewhat visible, but just five minutes after reopening they began to blacken again.

At the two hour mark, final observations were made. The Panasonic and Amrel notebook screens had suffered large areas of complete blackout. Rendered unusable, those units were subsequently powered down and removed by coordinators. The Panasonic unit, in fact had to be removed using gloves as it was too heat-soaked to pick up with bare hands.

Upon examining the Itronix Pro notebook, however, testers found it still functioning normally despite temperatures at the processor of 160 degrees Fahrenheit—heat so oppressive it actually delaminated the wooden table beneath. According to a written report issued later by the F-16 System Program Office, the Itronix unit “performed consistently well throughout. It did experience some degradation in direct sunlight, but the screen was readable and experienced no black out areas.”

While the evaluations administered those two days were merely the first of a three phase assessment of COTS portable computing solutions for military use, Lockheed-Martin and Air Force personnel were impressed by the Itronix Pro’s early showing. So much so, in fact, they have chosen the Pro for an immediate task: to serve as the computing platform for the field beta test of the Air Force’s new flightline maintenance documentation and logistics application.

Ortman says the assignment was an unexpected honor. “The Itronix Pro will drive all the Air Force’s critical aircraft maintenance field activity using wireless technology—technical orders, troubleshooting, parts and kit movement, JIT training, logistics, functional testing and more—at speeds far exceeding traditional desktop computers. We’re very excited about the opportunity and confident the Itronix Pro notebook will serve the Air Force well.”

Ortman and the Itronix team will be busy over the next several months, beginning with the three- to six-week beta test in late October. The remaining COTS testing phases will take place in late 2000 and early 2001, with a final decision expected next Spring. In the meantime, 35 Itronix Pros are being sent to Robins AFB where they will be used in the JSTARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System) program, helping to maintain the world’s most powerful airborne surveillance and battlefield management aerospace vehicles. Another 100 will eventually be sent to Randolph AFB for similar duties with that base’s maintenance personnel.

“Obviously we’re encouraged by our early acceptance by the Air Force, and the opportunities for helping U.S. military personnel move critical digital data quickly and accurately around the world,” said Ortman. “But regardless of the ultimate outcome, we’re proud that the Pro proved to be the clear winner in a head-to-head comparison with competitors generally perceived to be equal. The Pro is a high-powered tool our customers can depend on anywhere, anytime.”