Android app for military drone control in the works

Generally I expect technology that is invented for the military to eventually trickle down to the civilian world where we can get our hands on it in stores. Today a lot of the time consumer technology trickles to the military for use for things that the designers probably never thought about. The US military is reportedly getting an app for Android tablets and iPads from a company called Harris and other firms.

Harris is a contractor with the Pentagon that develops apps. The app the company is working on will allow a solider on the ground to use a cheap consumer Android tablet to control the camera on a drone flying overhead using gestures.

The idea is that the cheap computers can be fielded easily and allow the solider to find where enemy soldiers are and scout for weapons without having to resort to checking on foot where they might be attacked. Another app will tell a solider what fighting and bombings have taken place where they are on the battlefield.

[via Computerworld]