BACKGROUND
Barak is one of Elbit’s flagship projects, and ED&U was fortunate enough to lead this project with our Human Factors Engineering, user experience, and design in the form of planning a post for tank commanders in the IDF’s new Barak Merkava Tank.
The tank commander has one of the most complex and cumbersome roles in the IDF. While pilots are considered to fill demanding roles, it is the tank manager who must manage teams of three, while executing their own operational tasks. The team is completely reliant on the tank commander, and when said tank commander has additional titles, they are further charged with additional responsibilities pertaining to managing additional tanks, in addition to their own.
The system we designed was based on three main components: a touch screen, a handheld joystick, and a smart visor that integrated augmented reality (AR) technology, enabling the tank commander to see outside of the tank, without dangerously and unnecessarily sticking their head outside.