Apps for Army Second Round Opening 2012

Army to expand participation in apps competition

Apps for Army now to address business models, intellectual property rights

• By William Welsh
• May 02, 2011

The Army will allow the public and industry to participate in its next Apps for Army challenge, tentatively scheduled for 2012, Army CIO Lt. Gen. Susan Lawrence's office said in a statement April 29.

The broader participation strategy is being done to tap industry’s keen application development capabilities and also as a way to expand third-party participation in the marketplace, Army officials said.

In preparation for the new competition, the Army is designing prototype monetization business models. It also will incorporate intellectual property rights in the next stage.

The Army established the program in 2010 as a way to harness social media and collaboration bypass the time-consuming traditional software development process in the creation of Web and mobile applications.

By Defense Systems Staff

Apr 27, 2011

Last year’s Apps for Army competition is set to evolve into a servicewide applications store that would let soldiers download apps straight to their work computers, and possibly even to their mobile devices.

The Army Marketplace, as it’s dubbed, will start of with roughly a dozen apps from last year’s challenge and will grow as the marketplace breeds new app ideas, Spencer Ackerman reports for Danger Room.

The Army is looking to sidestep the current, lengthy software development and deployment process by using social media to allow users to share their needs and collaboratively develop new apps.

US Army to begin testing 85 smartphone apps

By: Brian Dolan | Jun 10, 2011    

http://mobihealthnews.com/11177/us-army-to-begin-testing-85-smartphone-apps/

T2 Mood Tracker App

The U.S. Army will begin testing iPhones, Android smartphones, and tablets for use in war starting next week, reports The Wall Street Journal. Last December  we reported on the military’s plans to test EMR applications on Apple and Android devices for use in the field, but this week’s announcement includes a handful of other specific applications.

The tests, which include using the technology for surveillance, biometrics, mobile drone piloting and real-time updating of battlefield data, will take place at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and in Fort Bliss, Texas. The six-week testing period is part of a wider $4.2 million dollar evaluation of smartphone technology and applications for military use. Apps on the devices could be used to more efficiently help wounded soldiers, with medics inputting soldier information and GPS location through the app. There are also apps that replace bulky instruction manuals for military equipment. In total, eighty-five applications are currently in development by the Army, both being created in-house or through outside developers.

The army is rigorous about evaluating devices that would add more weight to a soldier’s already-extensive load. Michael McCarthy, an Army project leader, was quoted saying that “we want to give people the right phones for the right reasons, not just give them another shiny thing to hang on their equipment carriers.”

The Army also wishes to see whether the consumer technology can support their heavy network bandwidth, and whether it is already durable enough for battlefield conditions. The military doesn’t want to “spend $2,500 to ruggedize a $200 phone,” McCarthy said in the article.

Last fall the Department of Defense (DoD) announced that one of its agencies, the National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2) had created a smartphone application, called theT2 Mood Tracker, to help members of the military who have been to deployed track their mood and stress levels. The Army has also made mobile health services available to some soldiers who have returned home: Last November the US Army inked a five-year deal with Diversinet to leverage its MobiSecure Health platform for “wounded warriors.” Wounded warriors without smartphones or a data plan can still use the services through a secure SMS version of the program also powered by Diversinet.Read more about the Army’s most recent announcement over at DoD Buzz

Published: 12:00 AM, Mon Aug 01, 2011



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Elite Magazine

Story by April Dudash

Need to monitor your PT or mark road maps with life-saving information?

There's an app for that.

In a move that further strengthens the Army's App Marketplace, the Army announced it will launch the second "Apps for the Army" challenge, or A4A, in December.

Last year, about 140 soldiers and Army civilians registered to participate in the first internal applications development challenge, and 53 web and mobile applications were developed and submitted.

Now, the plan is to open the challenge to the general public and industry developers.

The Army Marketplace is currently going through beta testing to ensure it meets both military and industry standards and will later migrate to the Defense Information Systems Agency, or DISA.
"It's going to take a while," said Holly Meyers, acting division chief of Enterprise Architecture. "We have to balance security as well as the demand for people to have smartphone technology out in the field."

Meyers said interest in the A4A challenge has their phones ringing constantly, and many of the calls are from small businesses.

Participants will be provided with software development kits that correspond to the app operating systems, she said.

Winners of the second A4A challenge will be announced in the early spring of 2012.
"It'll be interesting to find out what kind of submissions we get," Meyers said.

Here are the top five winning apps from last year's A4A challenge. They can be found on the Army Marketplace website, which is only available to military members:

Telehealth Mood Tracker (Android/iOS) is a self-monitoring app that allows users to track their psychological health over a period of days, weeks and months using a visual analogue rating scale. Users can track experiences associated with deployment-related behavioral health issues. / National Center for Telehealth and Technology, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Physical Training Program (iOS) Helps soldiers develop their own PT regimen based on the Army's new Physical Readiness Training program. The app provides training plans and videos of exercises. Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, Ga.
Disaster Relief (Android) is a Web-based data survey, dissemination and analysis tool for searching, editing and creating maps viewable on Google Earth and Google Maps. The app assists Army personnel working in humanitarian relief and civilian affairs operations. / Engineer Research and Development Center, Alexandria, Va.
Movement Projection (Android) is a map-routing app for road navigation that allows soldiers to input obstacles and threats - in addition to stops, starts and end points - and calculates the best and fastest route. / Engineer Research and Development Center, Alexandria, Va.
New Recruit (Android) provides information for potential recruits. Features include military rank and insignia, Army news feeds, an Army physical fitness test calculator, and a Body Mass Index calculator. / Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.


App winner information provided by the Army Chief Information Officer/G-6.