Harris launches software-based digital map for military aircraft

Harris Corporation has introduced its Software Digital Map at the Paris Air Show. A modular, scalable solution it is designed to meet the real-time, mission-critical requirements of today's tactical airborne environment.

In addition to addressing the needs of high-performance aircraft on high-risk missions, the new digital map software also supports a variety of other airborne processing hardware, effectively extending full-featured situational awareness capabilities to military utility and support aircraft.

The Harris Software Digital Map Application Processor Interface (API) operates within general-purpose, re-configurable graphics hardware or, for within special-purpose, high-end graphics/cartographic hardware. Either hardware host is free to provide other functionality when the map display is not required. All digital map features are enabled, regardless of aircraft type. The only variable is the performance time of the application, depending on the power of the onboard processing system.

"Harris has a long history of leadership in digital map development, and the Software Digital Map represents yet another important innovation in situational awareness technology," said Bob Henry, president, Harris Government Communications Systems Division (GCSD). "This new offering extends the proven functionality for which Harris digital maps are known to a wider range of aircraft platforms, thereby enhancing safety and increasing overall mission efficiency."

The Harris Software Digital Map reads standard National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) database formats directly. It also supports the COTS standard OpenGL interface that allows for seamless integration with COTS processors and graphics accelerators. As a companion to the Harris Software Digital Map, Harris also offers a range of high-performance, embeddable cartographic processing modules.

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