Reality Computing
Handheld Computing
Col. Kenneth L. Alford, Ph.D. U.S. Army
Handheld computers, especially personal digital assistants (PDAs), are increasingly being used throughout the Department of Defense. This article highlights some of the ways that PDAs are used today and are envisioned for the future. It outlines some of the considerations involved in a PDA procurement, discusses four tools for developing PDA resource materials – pro- gramming tools, hypertext markup language- and eXtensible markup language-based tools, text tools, and calendar tools – outlines some of the benefits and challenges associated with using PDAs, and shares several lessons learned.
omputing power continues to increase copy of the complete daily list. Using requirement, the PDA displays detailed in capacity and decrease in cost and their PDAs, guards can also provide specifications. Officers then check off size.C Today’s low-cost handheld comput- visitors with maps and directions to whether items are found to be satisfac- ers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) their destination on base [4]. tory or are in violation of federal law. allow computing resources to be almost • The Commanders Digital Assistant is a Instead of laboring to determine ubiquitous. This article illustrates how ruggedized PDA that is being fielded whether the law requires a particular handheld computing is changing the way to combat troops; it has already seen ship to carry one of three different some Department of Defense (DoD) field use with the 82nd Airborne in types of life rafts, an inflatable buoyant organizations do business and discusses how apparatus, life float, or nothing at all, you may take advantage of the capabilities boarding officers, with PDAs in hand, that are available through this technology. “… I sat down with a now spend their energy on, for exam- ple, inspecting life rafts to ensure that Example Handheld Programs group of Marines in they are properly set up to release PDAs, which are defined in DoD should a ship sink [7]. Directive 8100.2 as “a generic term for a California who had just • In 2004, the Marine Corps awarded a class of small, easily carried electronic $2.9 million contract to purchase devices used to store and retrieve infor- returned from the Iraq rugged PDAs (RPDAs) designed to mation” [2], were at one time viewed as lit- increase tactical awareness. This fol- tle more than novelties. Yet, with approxi- war. At one point in our lows a previous $12 million award that mately 20 million PDAs shipped last year, supplied RPDAs to several branches business and government groups continue conversation, I asked the of the U.S. military. These devices to find new ways to use them. Marines in the room to offer navigation, tactical digital mes- Here are some of the many ways that saging, remote radio control, GPS, PDA technology is currently being used raise their hands if they wireless local area network (LAN) and within the DoD: Bluetooth capabilities [8]. • The Pocket-Sized Forward Entry had either a cellular • All West Point cadets purchase a PDA. Device (PFED) is a ruggedized PDA Students and faculty members use designed for forward observers, telephone or a PDA. PDAs to store schedules, class assign- artillery fire direction, and target acqui- ments, reference documents, and other sition missions. With built-in laser Every hand went up. instructional materials. PDAs have also range-finding and global positioning ” been incorporated into some senior system (GPS) hardware, PFED users —Vice Adm. Herbert A. Browne, engineering design projects. can issue a call-for-fire request in less U.S. Navy (Ret.) [1] • Army medical units in Iraq use PDAs than 10 seconds – compared to 45 sec- to collect patient information. onds or more when using other sys- • Los Alamos National Laboratory’s tems [3]. Iraq. It integrates dismounted troops researchers have developed a PDA • Security guards at Wright-Patterson into the Blue Force Tracking system, radiation detector [4]. Air Force Base use PDAs at the gates enables commanders to distribute There are many other programs and and on patrols. Prior to receiving orders, and provides several additional projects throughout the DoD that could PDAs, guards were provided thick capabilities [5, 6]. also be listed. Many service members even binders containing daily event lists • The Coast Guard uses PDAs to help receive a PDA as part of their unit’s stan- with guest and sponsor contact infor- automate the task of inspecting fishing dard issue. mation. Only three of the 10 gates on vessels. Based on answers to 16 ques- base received a binder each day. tions, the PDA generates a customized Benefits Visitors who arrived at one of the checklist of safety requirements for As the previous examples illustrate, there other seven gates had to wait for firefighting, lifesaving, and bridge are many ways to effectively incorporate someone to confirm if they were equipment appropriate to each vessel. PDAs into the workplace and many rea- allowed on base. Now each guard has a As boarding officers click on each sons for doing so. PDAs offer a variety of
4 CROSSTALK The Journal of Defense Software Engineering June 2005 Handheld Computing advantages over other automated solu- “Use of Commercial Wireless Devices, operating systems: tions. For example, given the right work Services, and Technologies in the 1. Palm OS (the latest version is Palm environment, PDAs can do the following: Department of Defense (DoD) Global OS Cobalt, previously known as Palm • Increase worker productivity. Information Grid (GIG)” [2]. The direc- OS 6). • Improve customer support. tive’s guidelines apply to all commercial 2. Windows Mobile (which comes in • Reduce time spent searching for infor- wireless devices (including PDAs). It three profiles: Pocket PCs, Pocket PC mation. establishes “policy and assigns responsi- Phone Edition, and Windows Mobile • Allow users to take computing power bilities for the use of commercial wireless for Smartphones). and large amounts of information to devices, services, and technologies in the 3. Symbian OS (the leading operating places where they could not previous- DoD GIG.” system for Smartphones). ly go. 4. RIM (used in Blackberry devices). • Increase accuracy. Hardware Considerations • Save lives. The use of business and government Wireless Technologies This is because PDAs are versatile, (enterprise) PDAs has been on the rise for An increasing number of PDAs are being portable, inexpensive, and easy to use. the past several years. The Gartner sold with one or more of these wireless Retired Vice Adm. Herbert A. Browne Group’s research estimates that more than technologies [10]: recently noted the following: 4 million enterprise PDAs were in service 1. Bluetooth. This is an industry specifi- during 2004, and they estimate that num- cation for wireless communications Virtually all of the lessons learned ber will rise to 6 million by 2008. At the that uses short-range radio technology. from Operation Iraqi Freedom same time, the total cost of ownership Bluetooth version 1.2 throughput is include comments about the speed (TCO) per year of a business PDA has typically in the 400-500 kilobytes per of the forces’ advance exceeding dropped 28 percent – from almost $2,700 second (Kbps) range. Bluetooth does the speed with which line-of-sight in 1999 to $1,946 in 2004 [9]. (These fig- not have any native support for communications could keep up. ures are based on a two-year amortization Internet Protocol (IP) that means it Command and control (C2) of our rate.) does not currently support tactical forces was challenged by this rapid computer processor (TCP)/IP or mobility, and wireless technology is The Commanders wireless LAN applications very well. It viewed as the most likely solution “ is better suited for connecting PDAs, to getting collected information Digital Assistant is a cell phones, and PCs during short and C2 down to the tactical, trigger- intervals. Bluetooth certification pulling level. [1] ruggedized PDA that means that an individual product has been tested for compliance with the PDAs can offer solutions to some of is being fielded to Bluetooth specification; it does not those challenges. guarantee that it will be compatible combat troops; it has with other Bluetooth-enabled prod- Concerns ucts. Like other forms of automation, intro- already seen field use 2. 802.11/ Wireless LAN (WLAN). On ducing PDAs into the work environment an 802.11 WLAN, most PDAs adhere comes with a potential downside as well. with the 82nd to the 802.11b specification that pro- Here are some of the concerns associated vides 11 megabytes per second (Mbps) with using PDAs: Airborne in Iraq. transmission rates and throughput in • PDAs have limited data input capabili- ” the 4-6 Mbps range. ties, especially for typing-intensive 3. Global System for Mobile commu- work. The popularity of PDAs has resulted nications (GSM), General Packet • There are additional maintenance and in a wide variety of devices being offered Radio Service (GPRS), and GSM cost requirements. in the marketplace. Government users Evolution. The GSM is a European • Non-ruggedized PDAs can be easily considering PDA purchases have several digital cellular phone standard. GSM broken. decisions they must make regarding the 1900, the North American version of • PDAs may introduce additional train- device they will use. Decisions must be GSM, generally provides throughput ing costs in both time and dollars. made regarding the processor, operating in the 56 Kbps (or less) range. GPRS is • It is difficult for many users to separate system, wireless technologies, screen char- an overlay to GSM networks; the max- business and personal use of PDAs. acteristics, battery life, expansion memory, imum speed is theoretically 171.2 • There are numerous security concerns. input options, and durability (business ver- Kbps, but actual user experience is sus ruggedized models), among other usually limited to 56 Kbps or less. Security questions. GSM Evolution is a radio interface PDAs can introduce multiple security technology for mobile services; while challenges. Due to their small size, for Processor data throughput rates of approximate- example, PDAs have an increased risk of Most PDA processors are made by Intel, ly 384 Kbps are theoretically possible, loss or theft. PDAs that wirelessly connect Samsung, or Texas Instruments; PDA users more frequently report through- to government networks create additional processor speeds currently range from put closer to 64 Kbps. obvious security concerns. 16MHz to over 500MHz. 4. Code-Division Multiple Access On April 14, 2004, Deputy Secretary (CDMA). This is a spread-spectrum of Defense Paul Wolfowitz signed Operating System digital cellular technology. It was first Defense Department Directive 8100.2 Most PDAs run on one of the following used during World War II and became
June 2005 www.stsc.hill.af.mil 5 Reality Computing
commercially available in 1995. The attachable QWERTY (standard) key- coming together of two or more technolo- latest CDMA standard provides voice boards. At least one company has devel- gies – is rapidly occurring in the field of and data rates up to 2 Mbps. oped an exciting prototype technology: handheld computing. In many cases, PDAs and cellular phones have merged Screen Characteristics … that lets users of PDAs and and are sold in a single device known as a The screen size, resolution, backlighting similar mobile devices put data Smartphone. In the third quarter of capability, and color should all be consid- into their handheld systems simply 2004, Smartphone shipments exceeded ered during any purchase evaluation. by typing on an image of a stan- those of PDAs (3.96 million to 2.86 mil- dard-size keyboard projected onto lion units) [13]. Battery Life a desktop or other surface. The New devices, new capabilities, and Battery life is an important element in electronic perception technology cap- new technology will continue to appear. determining which PDA to purchase. tures the user’s finger motions via The DoD should embrace and incorpo- Nearly all PDAs today offer rechargeable emitted light photons that form 3- rate, whenever possible, the new oppor- batteries. The two main battery types are D real-time images that are then tunities that these advances will provide. lithium ion and lithium polymer. Most processed and translated into key- PDAs offer a rechargeable lithium ion strokes. [12] Developing PDA Tools battery. PDAs are increasingly being used As would be expected, actual battery Durability throughout the DoD, and this is especial- life depends on a wide variety of factors: Ruggedized PDAs (also known as indus- ly true at many educational and training screen size, resolution, use of backlight- trial handhelds) must meet additional locations. For example, at the U.S. ing, data intensity of applications, etc. specifications. For example, they must be Military Academy, PDAs are becoming an effective instrument in an instructor’s Expansion Memory toolkit. While PDAs have generally offered a rel- “Every decade has some There are several no-cost, low-cost, atively small amount of memory (in the and commercial products available to 8-64 megabytes range), new models are word associated with it. increase the functionality and usability of offering 256 megabytes with forecasts personal digital assistants in work and and expectations for more. Data-inten- In the ’80s, it was the training settings. There are four basic sive PDA applications often require addi- ways that PDA resource materials can be tional memory, and most PDAs offer at PC. In the ’90s, it was developed: (1) programming tools, (2) least one external expansion slot for addi- hypertext markup language (HTML)- and tional memory. Several memory card the Internet. For the rest eXtensible markup language (XML)- expansion options are available [9]: based tools, (3) text tools, and (4) calen- 1. Secure Digital (SD) cards are small of this decade, the key dar tools. and are used in PDAs, digital video camcorders, digital cameras, audio word is going to be Programming Tools players and mobile phones. Cards are convergence. Several software development environ- currently available to store up to 1 ” ments exist for creating applications for gigabyte. —Steve Case, AOL Time Warner, personal digital assistants. Introductory 2. Secure Digital Input/Output Chairman of the Board [11] information can be found online at (SDIO) provides improved multime- numerous Web sites1. Java – whether in dia and device management. SDIO the form of Kilobyte Virtual Machine cards generally support PDA periph- able to survive significant drops (from (KVM), Kawt (an implementation of the erals (such as GPS receivers, Wi-Fi, one meter or greater) onto a concrete Abstract Window Toolkit for the KVM), digital cameras, and Bluetooth). floor, water tests, heat and cold tests, and J9 (IBM’s virtual machine that is support- 3. Multimedia Memory Cards tolerance for electromagnetic shock. ed by Visual Age Micro Edition), or any (MMC) expansion slots are support- Ruggedized handhelds generally cost number of other flavors – is currently ed by many PDAs and are available in between 50 percent and 200 percent one of the most popular languages for storage sizes up to 1 gigabyte. more than business PDAs. programming handheld applications. C, 4. Compact Flash (CF), at one time, The Gartner Group estimates that the C++, versions of Basic and Visual Basic, was the most popular PDA expansion TCO in 2004 of a ruggedized PDA was Compact Application Solution Language card format. Some PDAs allow users $2,002 per year (almost the same as the (CASL), Pascal, Forth, Scheme, Smalltalk, to add up to 6 gigabytes of expansion $1,946 TCO for a business PDA) [9]. and several other proprietary scripting memory. These figures are based on a three-year tools are also available [14]. 5. Memory Stick. This is a proprietary product life, but many ruggedized users Application development is appropri- format (from Sony). Memory sticks keep their PDAs longer than three years, ate when existing PDA software currently have a storage capacity up to which lowers the ruggedized TCO cost. resources cannot adequately satisfy exist- 2 gigabytes. Because they are designed to withstand ing requirements. At West Point, for rougher treatment, ruggedized PDAs example, plebes (freshmen) must be able Input Options tend to have a longer useful life than to recite the number of days that remain In addition to standard PDA touch-screen business PDAs. until each football game, spring leave, data entry (either through point-and- graduation, and other notable cadet activ- touch or PDA graffiti recognition soft- Convergence ities. Faculty in the Department of ware), many PDAs offer small built-in or Digital convergence – defined here as the Electrical Engineering and Computer
6 CROSSTALK The Journal of Defense Software Engineering June 2005 Handheld Computing
Science created a small PDA program and limited graphics. Copies of the read- content for several years. Here are some called The Days that automates and sim- er software are available for the of the lessons they have learned in devel- plifies this daily ritual for freshmen stu- Windows, Macintosh, Palm OS, and oping applications and resources for dents. Windows Mobile operating systems. An PDAs: advantage of using PalmReader or • Be aware of size constraints. PDA HTML- and XML-Based Tools Adobe Acrobat is that the same docu- storage capacity is rapidly improving, HTML and XML files can be easily for- ment can be read on platforms with all but it is still a constrained develop- matted to be viewed on a PDA. There are four supported operating systems. ment environment. numerous ways this capability can be PalmReader uses a unique tag-based • Use graphics sparingly and ensure used to support teaching and other mili- description language that supports text that they have been optimized. tary training. For example, instructors at styles, links, graphics, sidebars, footnotes, • Double-check everything, especially West Point have formatted all of the fol- bookmarking, notes, and other features. links and graphics, before you distrib- lowing into HTML and/or XML pages PalmReader, Adobe Acrobat, and a ute PDA programs and products. to be read on PDAs: course syllabus and variety of similar programs can be used • Whenever possible, provide non- guidelines, course schedules, reading to create functional and extremely useful handheld alternatives for resources assignments, project and other course documents and electronic books for you develop for PDAs. assignment files, supplemental reading handheld computers. • Recognize different PDA operating assignments, class handouts, review systems, screen resolutions, and color information for exams, self-administered Calendar Tools capability. Reference to specific colors non-graded quizzes, Web pages, Web The ability of handheld computers to hot in images, for example, is meaningless sites, other HTML documents, and stu- synch with personal information man- for users who have a 16-grayscale dent projects. In other work environ- agement software, calendar software, and PDA screen. ments, it may be appropriate to place • Eliminate screen scrolling on PDAs copies of regulations, field manuals, It is important to whenever possible; it is tedious and directives, maps, and directions on PDAs. “ time-consuming. Two of the most popular programs realize that the next • Limit the number of PDA file-read- for transforming Web-ready pages into ing programs you require users to PDA documents are Plucker2, a freeware load on their PDA. PalmReader, 3 generation of federal program, and AvantGo , a commercial Plucker, and Adobe Acrobat, for product. Plucker software, for example, workers will not example, are all excellent programs, allows users to easily create and update but requiring users to load all of them PDA-readable versions of a single Web remember a time when in order to read a wide variety of page, multiple Web pages, or entire Web materials could require an unreason- sites. Users can configure graphic quality computers and able amount of valuable PDA memo- and size, timing of file updates, depth of ry space. search, and numerous other options. connected environments • Concentrate first and foremost on usability. The best content available Text Tools did not exist. can be rendered almost useless by a As an alternative to formatting text into ” poor presentation. an HTML or XML formatted document, there are several text-based tools, each other information located on personal Future Handheld Programs with its own unique file format that can computers makes calendar and schedule Numerous DoD handheld computing be used to develop PDA-readable docu- applications a natural target for course- applications are currently being devel- ments. work development. oped. Here is a glimpse of some of the There are several no-cost and low- Faculty and students at the U.S. applications that we should see in the cost alternatives available for developing Military Academy use Course Hour future: PDA documents. One of the quickest Appointment for Outlook Scheduler • The Protect America system is being and easiest ways to send text and small (CHAOS) – a Microsoft Visual Basic pro- designed to give military commanders documents to many PDAs is to use the gram for entering lesson dates, titles, and and force protection personnel from Memo Pad feature found in Microsoft assignment information into their per- U.S. Customs, the Secret Service, the Outlook and several PDA synchroniza- sonal and handheld computers. CHAOS- U.S. Coast Guard, the Transportation tion programs. Using Memo Pad is a very generated files are loaded into the Security Administration, the Federal basic solution, but it does have the advan- Microsoft Outlook calendar and then Bureau of Investigation, and others a tage that students can modify original synchronized with the calendar program common information-sharing tool [15]. text they receive. Memo notes are useful on student and faculty PDAs. Faculty and • The Seismic Landmine Detection when students are asked to modify and students at the U.S. Military Academy System would send seismic waves return a document or assignment. have used this method to create and dis- through a minefield, slightly moving To obtain increased document func- tribute calendars and schedules for stu- the earth and items buried beneath. A tionality, instructors can turn to freeware dent clubs, student project teams, and a radar sensor, connected to a PDA, or commercial software products, such as variety of other groups. will measure ground displacement to PalmReader4 or Adobe Acrobat5. locate plastic anti-personnel or anti- PalmReader provides all of the software Lessons Learned tank mines [16]. and instructions necessary to create fin- Instructors at the U.S. Military Academy • Technologies are being developed ished PDA-readable documents with text have been creating PDA instructional that will enable computers and PDAs
June 2005 www.stsc.hill.af.mil 7 Reality Computing
“to accept gestures, motions, speech, their mission. In many instances, the best Information Technology.” Signal June and facial expressions as data input tool available will be a handheld comput- 2003.
8 CROSSTALK The Journal of Defense Software Engineering June 2005