ATOS and the Cost of a Dot

The Dot is the Position Location Information or PLI in a connective, shareable situational awareness system called ATAK. The Android Team Awareness Kit is the proven program that enables planning, battle tracking, sharing of information from small teams to large interagency missions. The “cost” of the dot is the lives and equipment needed to achieve a mission. Something as simply knowing where your search and rescue team members are located or as complex as avoiding a mid-air collision between a drone/UAS and a multimillion-dollar helicopter. In the perfect world everything goes as planned, teammates don’t get trapped in a collapsed structure and drones will always avoid larger manned aircraft. We do not live in a perfect world where missions aren’t disrupted by an unforeseen event. Managing airspace with uncontrolled factors is a challenge. Air Traffic controllers manage airports by knowing where everything is with the help of systems like transponders and ADS-B. Another semi-controlled environment is military training ranges. 

Range Control keeps track of people, vehicles, explosives and aircraft with antiquated voice systems. Range Control has to rely on the Officer or NCO in charge to relay accurate data. There is a way to alleviate those assumptions, it’s called ATAK. Conventionally, to track in ATAK an Android Smart device (phone/tablet/computer) needs to be connected to a common server or system, but most things, people or equipment do not have the means to manage a smart device like vehicles and UAS’s. ATOS is the solution. These tags need no device just the ability to receive a GPS signal. ATOS stands for Android Tactical Object and Surveillance. ATOS is a GPS enabled tag tracking system used exclusively in the Android Team Awareness Kit/Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) situational awareness software. If all UAS’s operating in a controlled range have ATOS tags that report to the Officer or NCO in charge and to Range Control this is a positive means to track all their movement and avoid, damage and loss of equipment and life. 

Check Out Training from Tough Stump Technologies

Interested in learning more after reading about ATOS and the Cost of a Dot? Check out Tough Stump University’s TAK U Basic course. Visit us at toughstump.com for more information.