Analyzing the applicability of Internet of Things to the battlefield environment

TLDR

The Internet of Things, advancing in commercial sectors with data‑driven and intelligent systems, faces greater challenges in military battlefield environments where many commercial IoT architectures may not translate directly. The study investigates whether contemporary IoT concepts can be applied to battlefield environments to deliver benefits similar to those in industry, and explores potential operational uses such as logistics, sensing, surveillance, and situational awareness. The authors examine applicability issues and outline a roadmap for future research to adapt IoT for tactical battlefield use, highlighting benefits in logistics, sensing, surveillance, and situational awareness.

Abstract

As the Internet of Things (IoT) matures in commercial sectors, the promise of diverse new technologies such as data-driven applications, intelligent adaptive systems, and embedded optimized automation will be realized in every environment. An immediate research question is whether contemporary IoT concepts can be applied also to military battlefield environments and can realize benefits similar to those in industry. Military environments, especially those that depend on tactical communications, are much more challenging than commercial environments. Thus it is likely many commercial IoT architectures and technologies may not translate into the military domain and others will require additional research to enable deployment and efficient implementation. This paper investigates these issues and describes potential military operational activities that could benefit from commercial IoT technologies, including logistics, sensing/surveillance, and situation awareness. In addition, the paper lays out a roadmap for future research necessary to leverage IoT and apply it to the tactical battlefield environment.