General Dynamics (GD) Canada has unveiled its newly developed family of SD8000 smart displays with the quad-core 3rd generation Intel Core processor, designed to help military vehicles meet the critical computing-intense constraints of battlefield management.

The next generation smart displays bring the latest commercial computing technology to the battlefield, while conserving size, weight and power inside the vehicles.

David Ibbetson, General Dynamics Canada general manager said quad-core processing effectively doubles the vehicles' previous dual-core smart displays computing capabilities.

"Increased demand for warfighters to have rapid and direct access to information and sophisticated battle management applications requires highly integrated battlefield computing solutions," Ibbetson added.

Intel Intelligent Systems Group marketing director Matt Langman said that by using the increased energy efficiency and enhanced 3D graphics and video capability of the 3rd generation Intel Core processor family, GD will provide critical computing capabilities, while maintaining processing speed.

The ultra rugged displays are primarily developed for use in Ground Combat Vehicles (GCVs) and are naturally convection-cooled to meet rigorous military standards.

The displays feature touchscreen, multiple video and audio input channels, streaming and snapshot video capture, multiple vehicle-bus interfaces, wireless communications and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) capabilities.

Additional key elements include an embedded ground-based GPS Receiver Application Module (GB-GRAM), multiple I/O ports and a solid state hard drive.

Intel Virtualization Technology has also been integrated by the company to enable the use of Multiple Independent Levels of Security/Safety (MILS), high assurance security architecture for controlled information.

Smart displays can easily adapt to the changing dynamics of the mission, while supporting interoperability and future technology enhancements, and are currently fielded aboard a variety of the US Army's GCVs, including the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, Stryker and Bradley vehicles.