Modern combat helmets debuted during the First World War, but AI could soon be the newest update the time-proven brain buckets (Photo by Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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This year marked the 110th anniversary of the introduction of “modern” combat helmets, prompted by the horrors of the First World War, particularly trench warfare. It marked a comeback of sorts for the protective headgear, even though helmets hadn’t completely disappeared from the battlefield and had been worn throughout the world since antiquity.
In the century that has followed, helmets have seen significant evolution, both in terms of the materials used and the protective attributes. The goal has remained to protect the wearer, but new advances in technology could allow the helmets to do much more.
Russian engineers are seeking to integrate an artificial intelligence module that can collect data from a soldier’s helmet, as well as from other soldiers outfitted with similar equipment and even from unmanned systems in the area. All this data could then be supplied to commanders, providing greater situational awareness transmitted from the front lines and in real-time.
State media outlet TASS reported that the “Soratnik” helmet is being developed by a consortium known as the People’s Front. The goal of the project is to create a helmet fitted with modules that can assess “the battlefield environment and receive information on the positions of fellow servicemen and the enemy.”
The information could then be relayed back to the warfighters.
“We added an AI module into the combat gear of the future,” the head of the project department of a St. Petersburg design bureau told TASS. “This equipment is called Soratnik. The AI module collects data from a soldier’s helmet camera, from other troops with similar gear, and from a drone over the battlefield. Artificial intelligence processes all this data, provides information on the location of comrades and the enemy, and relays video from a drone. This data is shown on a display mounted inside the helmet.”
Russia also isn’t alone in developing such an AI-powered helmet.
Earlier this year, Facebook parent Meta and Anduril Industries began development of the “Eagle Eye” helmet, which will be fitted with augmented reality displays and provide real-time battlefield data through the AI-powered Lattice command and control network, increasing situation awareness and even providing control of autonomous systems.
History Of Military Helmets
The Soratnik and Eagle Eye could be revolutionary upgrades for combat helmets, which haven’t really seen as much advancement as other military equipment in the past century, or even centuries.
The helmets worn by the warfighters in 1915 were only marginally an improvement over those worn by the pikemen, musketeers, and cavalry in the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century. In more than a century since the First World War, apart from materials, there hasn’t been much to improve.
A 2020 study conducted by Duke University and published in the journal PLOS ONE found that combat helmets designed during World War I—including the French Army Model 1915 “Adrian” pattern steel helmet and the German Model 1916 “Stahlhelm”—provided better protection from shockwaves than those of modern helmets used in ongoing conflicts around the globe.
Improving, Not Revolutionizing The Design
It is important to note that the French Adrian and British Brodie/MkI designs specifically addressed the artillery blasts that soldiers in the trenches faced during the middle stages of the First World War. That explains why they were better in some cases than modern ballistic helmets when it came to shockwave protection. The modern helmets serve to protect the wearer from small arms fire as well as from shrapnel and other low-velocity impacts.
Moreover, the same issues that were true more than a century ago also remain: helmets are heavy, and for the wearer, comfort is as essential as their protective capabilities. An uncomfortable helmet won’t be worn, at least not for extended periods. When it isn’t on the head, it offers no protection.
The United States and other countries have sought to address those issues, but the addition of new technology could further complicate matters. Any integration of AI technology modules on the helmets will therefore need to consider comfort and weight, while also providing the benefit of increased situational awareness.
If that can be accomplished, it could be a game-changer in helmet design, where the old school “brain buckets” could be transformed to “smart helmets,” but not quite the kind worn by the British Army in Africa in the 19th century!