By Debbie Gregory.

If a biometric sensor is accurate enough, combined with suitable activity context, the device can provide deep insight and tracking that can provide a much broader picture of someone’s overall personal health.

A few years ago, the Air Force Research Laboratory tested the BioStampRC Wearable Sensing Platform, a flexible and wearable patch used to measure and monitor biomedical data. Now the Marine Corps Rapid Capabilities Office (MCRCO) wants to develop a similar product that will utilize biometric sensor technology to monitor the mental and physical health of Marines on the battlefield.

A request for information (RFI) went out to the defense industry “seeking input to identify potential sources for a Biometric Sensor capable of aiding in warfighting functions through physiological metrics such as mental and physical fatigue, hydration levels, heart rate, temperature, nutrition level, impact forces, etc.,” according to the solicitation.

MCRCO plans to conduct a limited Rapid Capability Assessment using sensor prototypes to inform concepts of employment and capability requirements.

Biometrics-enabled monitoring systems will recognize and evaluate the level of awareness of military personnel through detection of drowsiness and other distractions. With alerting integrated, the monitoring system will help reduce missteps resulting from fatigue
and inadvertent mistakes.

The requirements for the sensor prototypes include the ability to be worn with or integrated into individual equipment loads; the ability to accept/integrate with government-owned command-and-control systems and architectures and be managed from a common tablet; and be capable of collecting and exporting real-time or near real-time data.

MCRCO plans to conduct limited assessments of prototypes to guide how the technology could be used in the future, as well as inform future requirements