Novel display devices for command & control applications

The Topographical Map Display military R&D project was dedicated to the design and development of hardware display prototypes to study alternatives to paper maps for command and control applications. It investigated better ways to present information to commanders by using a mosaic of electronic display screens to present a macroscopic view of a situation, rather than a microscopic view allowed by conventional single display screens. In the initial phase, the first-generation ToMaDi was built by using four 20" diagonal plasma display panels tiled in a 2 x 2 configuration. In the second phase, ToMaDi MkII was built. This unit used sixteen 14.1" diagonal thin-film liquid crystal displays tiled in a 4 x 4 configuration and connected to a WinNT4 PC computer. In addition to the mullion reduction, the size and pixel surface density increased and touchscreen capability was added. This way, the ToMaDi MkII allowed the user(s) to both easily see and control the information displayed, which is no ordinary task with large display devices. Despite its size, ToMaDi MkII remains an "ordinary" workstation, which is easy to integrate with current and future CCIS through a network link. Up to now, the MkII prototype has shown very good characteristics that allow its use in specific operational scenarios. The value of ToMaDi was confirmed by its utilization in two major military exercises during the summer of 2000. In summary, the ToMaDi MkII makes electronic mapping a reality.