If you have been tracking some of the things I have been dabbling with, you might notice I have gone down the rabbit hole a bit with ATAK. Well, I came across VK Integrated Systems, Aries Defense and Legionarius all at the same booth at SHOT Show 2023 and they have some interesting ATAK integration.

Legionarius LLC ATAK Integration

Legionarius has a smart garment that connects to ATAK. It is like something out of Sci-Fi. They have a garment that has zones that are wired up. When something penetrates the garment, the system registers the hit and the general location. You can see the different zones on the screen below. It does register hits from bullets, stabbings, cuts and shrapnel. Also, it can detect hits from the front and rear. I believe it can register entry and exit wounds. The image below shows vitals that I assume the smart garment is reading off the user.

The prototype combat shirt has a box at the back nape of the shirt that you plug into your EUD (end-user device) running ATAK.

When a team member gets hit, it will alert the entire team. Since it is connected to the ATAK network you know where that person is and can get aid to them sooner.

VK Integrated Systems

VK Integrated Systems has their own ATAK integration via a smart stock that also connects to ATAK. The SIOS-C is a carbine stock that has Compass, and accelerometers built into it. When connected via their ATAK plug-in, the SIOS-C shows up on the ATAK map. There is a small icon that indicates what direction the stock is pointing. When a shot is fired the plug-in registers the direction and the time the shot was taken.

This is the SIOS-C11B

They will have a SIOS-C11E with enhanced GPS internals.

VK Integrated Systems is also planning on making a SIOS-V01 which will be a vertical grip for ATAK integration. This is for foreign agencies that do not use AR-style firearms. Like departments that use bullpup rifles. The SIOS-C11B is just $600 and comes with the plug-in.

Aries Defense ATAK Integration

Aries Defense makes something called OVERWATCH. It is a video/data management system combined with a smart camera that can detect movement. See the image below. The small camera can be programmed to alert people using ATAK when something crosses its path. More importantly, OVERWATCH does not simply plug into your radio. Trying to stream video over the radio through ATAK can overwhelm the bandwidth. OVERWATCH does not do that. Aries Defense ATAK integration has been able to handle up to 27 cameras all on the same network.

The rep positioned something in front of the camera and the FOV went green on the screen.

I talked to Eric Donovan and Doug Pillsbury of Aries Defense at SHOT Show. They make a simpler system called OWIK which allows you to use your own imaging device rather than their OVERWATCH camera. I had reached out to Eric earlier inquiring about OWIK and its compatibility with Vectronix JIMLR/LRTV. Unfortunately, Vectronix will not let them borrow one for development. Fortunately, I brought my LRTV with me and we connected it to OWIK. It works!

Right now the LRTV is merely connected via the analog video out cable into OWIK so it is only displaying the thermal image or day channel in ATAK. I want more ATAK integration for the LRTV. The LRTV has GPS, compass and LRF capabilities. This will require a data cable and figuring out the pin-out but it is possible, according to Doug of Aries Defense.

OVERWATCH is a bit pricey at around $29k while OWIK is just under $20k.

For more ATAK integration check out their websites.

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