The challenge

Towards a more agile, connected soldier

In operational situations where it’s essential for soldiers to be able to move around easily, minimising the weight they have to carry is a major issue. Using new-generation mobile technologies to create much lighter field communications systems opens up operational possibilities that are attracting a lot of interest among the armed forces. This approach is part of the broader, intensive transition to digital systems.

The solution

A UX Design implementation approach was used to draw out how the system will be used. This collaborative process of innovation between the DGA and Atos resulted in a smartphone which has all the advantages of weight and ergonomics and includes specific functionality, such as a digital ‘wall’ where tactical orders and geolocated visualizations of events are posted. A full-scale trial was used to validate the concept and critical improvements were added.

Business benefit

Ready for Day 1… now in daily use

Auxylium has been used by several hundred soldiers every day to combat terrorism. It is a lightweight and ergonomic tactical communications tool (weighing just a few hundred grams), that is not only secure, but also highly energy efficient and allows instantaneous switching between civil and military networks, as well as the sharing and visualization of information within defined groups.