Multisensory Wearable Vital Monitoring System for Military Training, Exercise and Deployment

Military organizations have extensive technological solutions to precisely monitor machines and operating equipment. In recent decades, extensive research and development projects have been launched focusing on the physiological monitoring of soldiers, with new opportunities arising from innovative developments in the field of biosensors. This paper describes the main objectives of the VitalMonitor project, which is carried out in the frame of the Austrian Defence Research Program FORTE (FORTE - Austrian Defence Research Program; https://​projekte.​ffg.​at/​projekt/​3781447). The project focuses on the development of a real-time monitoring system for situation-dependent physiological load on soldiers based on innovative body worn biosensors integrated into clothing or equipment. Intelligent sensor fusion and data analysis methods enable an overview of the actual physical stress situation in military training, exercises or missions. The analysis of scenario-based physiological requirements will be the basis for the optimization of physical resilience as well as operational readiness and will eventually reduce the risk for dangerous situations caused by physical exhaustion.