Harris unveils new ruggedised tablet

Harris Corporation has unveiled its newest communications technology product, with the Harris Ruggedised Tablet, a secure, portable device that delivers a ‘smartphone-like’ experience to military personnel and first responders who require secure real-time information at their fingertips to execute their missions. The company introduced the product in a 20 February 2012 statement.

According to the company, the RF-3590 tablet is a 7-inch ruggedized Android tablet that provides high-performance application and computing capability at the tactical edge. It integrates seamlessly to the most advanced military and public safety communications platforms, including Harris Falcon III wideband tactical radio networks and 3G and 4G LTE Solutions; and delivers targeted suites of mission-critical software applications to users on the battlefield and in first responder roles.

The system supports the emerging requirements for video, monitoring position locations, accessing secure databases and other crucial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks; and is rated as a ruggedised device to provide reliable operation in heat, cold and other extreme environments.

Harris has received initial orders for test and evaluation purposes and is optimistic the product will be well received. For the warfighter, the RF-3590 leverages the military’s emerging wideband tactical radio networks and enables real-time sharing of mission-critical information across the battlespace. Harris is the leading provider of wideband communications through its Falcon III AN/PRC-117G manpack and Falcon III AN/PRC-152A handheld radios. The new Harris tablet extends this proven capability to the network edge, putting a rugged, Android-based device with extensive interface capability in the hands of users on the frontlines. The Harris tablet is also designed to integrate with the Harris Falcon Networking System, an end-to-end system for connecting individual warfighters to the tactical cloud.

For the first responder, the RF-3590 provides a unique ruggedized device capable of delivering on-scene, real-time critical data to law enforcement, fire service or federal agency users who are connected via both public and private cellular networks. Leveraging Harris’ deep understanding of public safety communications, the RF-3590 delivers mission critical voice, data, and video to first responders, using built-in 3G or 4G technology via an integrated network module.

In addition to serving as a network peripheral, the RF-3590 also offers stand-alone computing power. It comes with built-in cameras, an accelerometer, digital compass, pressure and temperature gauges, gyroscope, proximity/ambient light sensors and more. Harris’ RF-3590 includes standard USB and Ethernet data interfaces and expansion capabilities. The RF-3590 is built around a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor and supports up to 128 GB of internal non-volatile memory.