pecial operations planes will soon be able to zero in on targets located with hand-held computers carried into the field by ground troops. Soldiers will point a laser range finder at a target, and the laser device will then feed information into a hand-held global positioning system unit, which will calculate the target's location. After the soldier inserts this result into a standard report, a radio attached to the hand-held device will transmit the data to a computer aboard the plane.
The hand-held computers will make the Joint Special Operations Command "more effective, in that they reduce mistakes, and more efficient, in that they save time," says John A. Glowacki Jr., an Air Force aviation and tactics specialist assigned to JSOC at Fort Bragg, N.C.
But Glowacki views this limited-function system only as an intermediate step. "Our target users are people that live with what they can carry," Glowacki says. "Every additional battery is a great consideration," he says, "so we want one [computing device] that serves many uses." One possible use will be to track soldiers by assigning each a bar code. Ultimately he envisions that "one operator with a hand-held [device] could have a series of [software] applications and move from bar coding to digital call for fire, to whatever administrative and communications tasks he needs." Glowacki's ideal system may not be too far off, given the rapid evolution of mobile computing technology.
Mobile computing includes a broad range of products and services, all designed to allow people to electronically receive, manipulate or send data without being constrained to one place, such as an office. An executive on a cross-country flight who is preparing a presentation using a laptop computer is taking advantage of mobile computing. But many mobile users find their machines to be of little benefit unless they connect to other computers, which requires telephones (or radios) and modems.
Some new cellular phones use digital technology that eliminates the need for a modem, and new "smart phones" with small keyboards and displays tucked under the telephone keypads are expected on the market this year. SkyTel Corp.'s two-way pagers allow users to send a brief reply chosen from a range of choices. These products illustrate the trend toward bundling more features and components in smaller, less-expensive packages.
Mobile computing technology promises greater productivity for any employee whose job involves a lot of roaming within a facility, as in the case of doctors, or frequent travel. Some organizations find it cost-effective to redesign entire processes, using mobile computing-based systems. Giga Information Group, a market research firm based in Norwell, Mass., estimates there are 31 million mobile professionals (defined as employees who spend at least 20 percent of their time away from their desks) in the United States.
In 1995, almost 12 million portable computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) were in use, according to Giga, which expects that number to rise to almost 33 million by 2000.
Capabilities Vary
All-in-one smart phones are convenient, but for mobile computing they are only useful for sending and receiving short text messages and storing limited data. A little more functional are hand-held computers, including PDAs and palmtops, from companies such as Apple Computer Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Litton Data Systems. In general, hand-helds are most useful for basic tasks such as contact management, word processing, and collecting and transmitting data. PDAs with significant new features will debut late this year, according to Andrew Seybold, editor of The Outlook on Communications and Computing newsletter.
Mobile employees looking for more powerful machines can find a range of options among notebook and laptop computers, the most powerful of which offer desktop computer-equivalent functionality. Full screens and keyboards are now complemented by plenty of memory, Pentium processors, and multimedia components. But short battery lives are a common complaint, and Seybold says users should expect no quantum leaps in this area. Although portability translates into a higher sticker price for these computers, some users have found the benefits they provide more than make up for the expense.
The Agriculture Department's Food Safety Inspection Service has begun equipping some of its meat and poultry inspectors with notebook computers and modems. Inspectors whose patrols cover more than one plant in a day are using the devices to receive inspection assignments and other messages, as well as to refer to agency directives, technical manuals and regulations. Their computers are equipped with word processing, spreadsheets and other software.
These inspectors have no regular offices, so having access to such functions has already proved valuable. "We did a benefit-cost study, which showed a return of $1.60 for every dollar spent," says Peter Kuhmerker, the computing initiative's project manager. The portable computers "probably save inspectors an average of half an hour a day," Kuhmerker says.
However, mobile computing is "not an inexpensive undertaking" for large organizations, says Alan Reiter, president and editor of Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing newsletter. He says departments can expect to pay a few thousand dollars per person for the necessary equipment. Other users who have offices but travel frequently are offsetting the higher price by making a laptop their only computer and connecting it to a docking station, if necessary, while at the office.
Wireless Advances
To communicate with other computers from the road, most mobile users still rely on a phone jack and modem. Another option is wireless technology, which bypasses phone cables in favor of infrared, microwave or radio waves. "Wireless is still a very small part of the mobile market, probably about 1 to 2 percent," Reiter says. But the growing use of mobile phones and pagers presents opportunities for increased wireless computing.
"People are getting used to using e-mail and portable communications," Reiter says. "It's not rocket science to have e-mail messages forwarded to a wireless device. And it's getting to the point that it's not terribly expensive." But the cost is relative: "Air time is still too expensive by a factor of 5 to 10," says Bill Frezza, president of Wireless Computing Associates in Yardley, Pa.
A new General Services Administration contract scheduled to be awarded this fall promises cheaper wireless services for all agencies. The Federal Wireless Telecommunications Services contract is a short-term way of taking advantage of government volume buying power until the more comprehensive post-FTS2000 contract is awarded sometime in 1997. "We expect these contracts will give us dramatic reductions of about 40 to 50 percent off what we're now paying" for wireless services, says John L. Okay, deputy commissioner of GSA's Federal Telecommunications Service.
The immediate procurement is only for analog cellular service, but it is structured to take advantage of digital cellular and other emerging wireless technologies. Better prices should take mobile communications "out of the realm of a very specialized service for high-level managers and put it in the hands of more people who would really benefit from it on a day-to-day basis," Okay says.
Cost is not the only issue. Wireless data speeds are slower than those of conventional cables; cost-effective wireless services are not available everywhere; and standards have not been established. "The biggest single problem hindering the growth of wireless is connecting the mobile user wirelessly back to their own LAN [local area network] or desktop," Seybold says, largely because of security worries and the fact that "many wireless products aren't plug-and-play," says Reiter.
Wireless Networks
For those who wish to make the leap to wireless networks, several options are emerging:
- Cellular. Analog service is ubiquitous, but the trend is migrating to digital cellular systems, which transmit strings of zeros and ones, as do computers. Air time is very expensive, and interface standards are lacking.
- Cellular Digital Packet Data. A technique for sending packets of data quickly through analog cellular phone networks; the service is not available nationwide.
- Personal Communications Services. These are cheaper cellular services that are beginning to offer completely digital voice and data transmission over newly assigned radio frequencies. Sprint Spectrum is already offering PCS service in Washington, D.C. PCS phones can be used both inside and outside buildings, but roaming among regions will be hindered by different standards.
- RAM Mobile Data and ARDIS. These two private radio networks offer good nationwide coverage. Reliability and speed are weak points, but are improving.
- Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio. This uses two-way radio dispatching frequencies for carrying voice and data on a national digital network. Geotek Communications Inc. and NEXTEL Communications Inc. offer ESMR service.
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