The defense contractor is the latest--and perhaps least likely--convert to Google's mobile platform.
Google's mobile operating system Android has won plenty of adherents among cellphone makers and gadget manufacturers since its 2007 debut. Now defense contractor Raytheon is preparing it for a more urgent mission: saving lives in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Using Android software tools, Raytheon ( RTN - news - people ) engineers built a basic application for military personnel that combines maps with a buddy list. Raytheon calls the entire framework the Raytheon Android Tactical System, or RATS for short. Mark Bigham, a vice president of business development in Raytheon's Intelligence and Information Systems unit, says the company selected Android because its open-source nature made developing applications easy.
Every part of RATS is tailored for use on a battlefield. A soldier could make an unmanned plane a "buddy," for instance, and track its progress on a map using his phone. He could then access streaming video from the plane, giving him a bird's eye view of the area. Soldiers could also use the buddy list to trace the locations of other members of their squad.
Some RATS services stress a fast connection to the Department of Defense's Internet-like data network. This would enable a soldier on a mission to take a picture of a suspect and send the image to military headquarters for identification. RATS includes some lightweight encryption to ensure that outsiders can't intercept the images or video or hack into the phone's buddy list.
Eventually, RATS devices could double as biometric scanners. A small device could snap on top of the phone's camera and capture fingerprints, says Bigham. The photos could then be sent to an off-site facility for processing.
Most of these features have been incorporated into the basic RATS application, which Raytheon says took more than two years to build. The company expects to finalize contracts and deploy RATS in the next month or two. Bigham says the Department of Defense has expressed interest at "a very senior level" and believes that other government groups, such as the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies may sign on, too.
Relatively low prices could win some adherents. RATS will cost a few hundred dollars per user while other military-grade mobile terminals can run as high as $20,000 to $30,000, says Bigham. Raytheon also contends that RATS is a cost-saver because it requires less instruction. Like regular Android applications, RATS uses the phone's touch-screen and keyboard for navigation--motions that should be familiar to anyone who has used a smart phone. "Some of these functions were already available, but in hardware that's kind of clunky," says Bigham. "We're going for a 'zero-training-required' design."
Raytheon's support adds a new dimension to the recent Android hype. In early October, researcher Gartner said Android could be the second-largest smartphone platform--overtaking Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) and its iPhone--by 2012.
A Google ( GOOG - news - people ) spokeswoman declined to comment on the scope of this new market, but said she believes the Raytheon applications represent the first military use of Android.
Relatively low prices could win some adherents. RATS will cost a few hundred dollars per user while other military-grade mobile terminals can run as high as $20,000 to $30,000, says Bigham. Raytheon also contends that RATS is a cost-saver because it requires less instruction. Like regular Android applications, RATS uses the phone's touch-screen and keyboard for navigation--motions that should be familiar to anyone who has used a smart phone. "Some of these functions were already available, but in hardware that's kind of clunky," says Bigham. "We're going for a 'zero-training-required' design."
Raytheon's support adds a new dimension to the recent Android hype. In early October, researcher Gartner said Android could be the second-largest smartphone platform--overtaking Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) and its iPhone--by 2012.
A Google ( GOOG - news - people ) spokeswoman declined to comment on the scope of this new market, but said she believes the Raytheon applications represent the first military use of Android.
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