Last week, Persistent Systems unveiled the new Rugged Display and Controller (RDC) for the MPU5 mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) device.

The purpose built RDC is an alternative to third-party consumer Android phones used with the MPU5, offering improved ruggedness, ergonomics, and enterprise-class management in one of the few Android End User Devices (EUD) made in America.

“When you plug in the RDC, you instantly have a complete situational awareness capability,” says Brian Soles, Persistent’s vice president of Business Development.

“The MPU5 is a computer that runs the Android operating system, and every MPU5 comes preinstalled with the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK), which is a full-fledged situational awareness Android app.”

The tactical operator has a complete kit at their disposal with the RDC’s 5.7-inch multi-touch screen, combined with the Dual PTT and MPU5. With this complete kit, the operator can receive voice, video, and situational awareness data directly from every user, unmanned systems, and sensor on the network. 

The RDC is designed for tactical users who wear gloves, so it has physical buttons for ease and speed of use, including the Android standard Home, Back, and App Overview buttons. When connected, the RDC appears to Android as a Gamepad Input Device, with two joysticks, rocker-switches, A-B-X-Y buttons, and an emulated D-Pad. Using joysticks to zoom in and hotkeys to quickly switch between functions, tactical users can now navigate their applications faster.

Eight integrated high-precision sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, thermometer, pressure, light sensors, and rear-facing camera) feed data into the Android Sensor Framework, which enables applications to incorporate motion, orientation, and environmental data.

“We designed the RDC to match the chest-worn formfactor that users were already accustomed to with commercial EUDs, while delivering increased ruggedness and capability,” Soles explains. “We contracted Juggernaut.Case to design the chest mount, to provide a unified experience to the end-user.”

Persistent notes that Wave Relay Ecosystem partners and third parties have developed Android applications to drive unmanned ground robots, fly UAS, and steer EO/IR cameras. Persistent says that the RDC helps achieve its vision to deliver those capabilities to every soldier through the networked battlefield.