For warfighters who rely on battlefield power reserves to operate crucial equipment, uncertainty is a potent threat. In scenarios where operators are juggling countless variables, and navigating unpredictable environments, the importance of reliable power management is amplified. The next opportunity to harvest battery power, or even connect to a power source, can be far off. Guessing your remaining juice, and the overall health and performance of your power supply, is simply not a viable option. Operators need to know how much power is left, how much time they have, how well their devices are performing, and the best way to optimize their remaining power—all accurate and available at a moment’s notice.
To provide soldiers with a clear, intuitive management system for soldier-worn power systems, Galvion has released its first mobile application: the Nerv Centr Power App. This tool allows users to interface directly with Galvion’s Nerv Centr® SharePack® Power Management System, enhancing in-the-field accessibility, connectivity, and device monitoring and control—all through the user’s mobile device or tablet. The app has been expressly designed to eliminate the need to interrupt the mission at hand, or disconnect the battery from military devices—both pervasive drawbacks of current battlefield power management—helping maintain situational awareness, optimize power efficiency, and simplify equipment configuration.
The Nerv Centr Power App is now available for free direct download from the Google Play store. Galvion has also released a specially-designed cable for use with the app.
The Nerv Centr app displays critical SharePack battery information, including charge remaining, time until energy depletion, state of health, port status, battery temperature, number of cycles remaining, and more. Additionally, soldiers in the field will be able to optimize their SharePack performance by setting different modes—power, adjust volts, harvest, or donate—as well as tailoring their interface to a selection of listed military equipment. The user will now be able to maintain their situational awareness while efficiently configuring their power, all without having to fumble with their rig or equipment to dig out the battery pack.
Overall, the benefit of integration with user’s mobile device is twofold: the app utilizes the familiar and user-friendly touchscreen of mobile device displays and, in so doing, negates the need for additional power management monitors and cabling. Rather than having to rely solely on the SharePack device’s screen and controls, or contending with the tiny buttons and small screen of other integrated power manager devices, the Nerv Centr App leverages the more generous dimensions of the end user’s device display to deliver more control and maintenance options. Optimized for Android tablets and mobile devices, in both landscape and portrait orientations, the app provides a vastly improved user interface and, therefore, a better overall user experience. The user will now be able to maintain their alertness while efficiently configuring and managing their power reserves.
Monitor Battery Status
Configure Port Modes
Optimize Charge of Connected Devices
Additional Notes
Galvion’s new Nerv Centr Power App takes Galvion’s elite, rugged power management products to the next level. Galvion’s power management products operate on a fundamental principle: they are explicitly engineered to enhance operational effectiveness and support greater situational awareness in extreme and volatile conditions. Simplifying how users interface with their myriad devices and battery systems, will ultimately boost their survivability and lethality.
In creating this app, Galvion worked with Dogtown Media in Los Angeles to develop the user interface and user experience (UI/UX). The front and back-end app development was done in conjunction with the MORSE Corporation, a Boston firm specializing in military software solutions. The Nerv Centr mobile application is the first of a series of Galvion apps. In preparation for the rollout of this app, Galvion personnel in Ottawa have configured SharePack software and developed specialized cables to allow simultaneous power and communication. In advance of this launch, Galvion also released a SharePack firmware update to support integration with the Nerv Centr app.
As mobile devices proliferate on the battlefield, and as missions rely more heavily on real-time data for successful execution, applications like the Nerv Centr Power App will play a central role in soldiers’ day-to-day planning and actions. And, as these apps proliferate, users will demand more functionality and accessibility—both areas Galvion has heavily emphasized in this app’s development, offering a solution that is visually appealing, easy to use, and eminently practical for everyday use. Galvion’s new Nerv Centr App is one major part of a multi-front effort to help operators manage increasingly complex, interconnected equipment and devices while in the thick of the mission.
