Image credit: Wired
By Spencer Ackerman
Jumping out of an airplane wasn’t exactly a precision mission. Until now.
Sure, executing a jump takes precision: troops need to descend 25,000 feet onto a very specific spot, sometimes in hostile territory. But jumpers didn’t exactly have a guidance system to make sure they get to where they’re going.
A team comprising the Texas-based defense firm Nanohmics and Florida’s Complete Parachute Solutions is trying to change that. They’ve designed what may be a first — an avionics system for parachutists. Loaded onto a phone running either Android, Windows or Linux or a five-pound ruggedized laptop, the software, known as Glideline, calculates the variables of a pre-jump mission and even helps the parachutist stay on target as he descends.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/parachute-avionics/
