CANBERRA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australian soldiers could soon be wearing their own "black box" data recorders, after the Australian government announced plans Thursday to develop a small, mobile data recorder to be known as the "fight recorder."
Much like the black box data recorders found in every aircraft across the world, the fight recorder would be worn by soldiers and would capture valuable location data on the battlefield, act as a beacon in emergencies, and relay vital statistics to headquarters, according to Defense Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.
"Survival rates for battlefield casualties are closely tied to response times and the Fight Recorder will enable Defence to quickly locate and treat casualties," Pyne said in a media release on Thursday.
"In addition to serving as a location beacon, the data captured by the Fight Recorder could be used to inform the design and performance of soldier equipment and protective wear."
Pyne said the collaboration between the Defense Department and industry would be boosted by a 700,000 Australian dollar (560,000 U.S. dollar boost) government grant, while development of the wearable black boxes will take place in South Australia; Adelaide's Myriota and New Zealand's IMeasureU were the successful industry applicants.
"Start-up telecommunications company, Myriota and wearable technology company IMeasureU, were selected from forty-seven quality industry and university applicants from across Australia and New Zealand to develop the Fight Recorder," he said.
"Defense will work closely with these companies to help deliver this world-first innovation. Once again our local small and medium enterprises have demonstrated they are well placed to deliver Defense innovation."
