General Micro Systems’ Lightweight Smart Rugged Tablet/Display Adds Unmatched Flexibility, Portability and Intelligence to the Battlefield
Designed to go from mounted display to tucked under the arm as a dismounted handheld tablet computer with a powerful ARM-based Qualcomm AI processor and multiple built-in I/O, this fanless, completely sealed X9 Spider system is one of numerous innovations showcased in GMS booth #1537 at West 2024 February 13-15
General Micro Systems(GMS) recently introduced a high-definition (HD) rugged Thunderbolt display that adds the Qualcomm® QRB6165 embedded/AI processor, uniquely enabling the tablet to be mounted on a ship or vehicle, mounted and then dismounted for portable operations or used exclusively as a lightweight handheld self-contained tablet computer.
In October 2023, GMS introduced a lightweight, rugged, and high-definition Thunderbolt display that uniquely extended the bus of the X9 Spider Host Computer’s processor into the display to enable local I/O and mix-and-match modular capability. The X9 Spider Rugged Thunderbolt Tablet/Display introduced today offers these same capabilities but adds the mobile phone ARM®-based Qualcomm QRB6165 mobile processor for generative AI, inference tracking, extreme vector graphics, and image processing/enhancement. The device can now serve as a “smart” complete mission computer with ample built-in I/O in a portable tablet that Navy SEALs, Marines, or soldiers can carry for real-time access to highly critical information.
“There’s nothing like this in the market, whether from a defense or pure commercial supplier: it’s a breakthrough first,” said Ben Sharfi, president and chief architect, GMS. “By adding the impressive capabilities of the Qualcomm AI processor, the X9 Spider Rugged Thunderbolt tablet and display becomes a smart, lightweight, flexible tablet like no other on the battlefield. Available in feather-weight carbon fiber, not only can this tablet be mounted on a ship or in a vehicle, connected with Thunderbolt to a separate, distant host computer, but without missing a beat, it can be dismounted and used as a long-life portable wireless tablet, providing the same information that was available while operating shipboard or in a vehicle.”
With a day-long battery, the tablet meets multiple mission profiles in different vehicles, platforms, and theaters of operation. The tablet/display also runs Android and Linux—another unique capability for maximum application flexibility, long life, and Department of Defense (DoD) software control throughout the life cycle.
Four size options with bright LCDs, resistive touch screens, removable storage, security
The Qualcomm CPU is mobile-focused and has onboard systems explicitly designed for I/O, image tracking and enhancement, video processing, DSP-based audio processing and enhancement, noise cancellation, and first-class security with included TPM. It is intended for use in embedded machine vision battery-powered appliances, with all-day battery life, object recognition, voice recognition, and blazing speed. For example, sailors, Marines o, and SEALs can talk to the tablet—even under extreme stress—and this alleviatesd the use of the touchscreen interface or optional keyboard.
The smart Thunderbolt Tablet/Display is designed to provide the highest level of performance possible in a fully ruggedized, fanless, completely sealed system with an ultra-bright LCD and optional Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS). While available in 10″, 12″, 17″, or 24″ diagonal LCD sizes in the thinnest and most rugged display chassis on the market today, the 12″ version is ideal for dismounted Navy SEAL/Marines/soldier applications.
“The smart Tablet’s use for the warfighter is game-changing,” Sharfi added. “Cool to the touch, rugged, thin, wireless, and lightweight, never before has such a dual-mode smart tablet/display been available. GMS is the first.”