Project Description: The Easy Com Armband is a device built for special military operations that transmits emergency signals through simple and secret vibrations from one armband to another.

The Easy Com Armband is a device, designed to help the U.S. Marines in secret and dangerous operations. When the U.S. Marines or Military Special Forces go into a highly dangerous combat operation, their lives on the line. Specifically, in hostage or kill-list operations, often less than ten soldiers are assigned the task to enter an unmapped building in order to find their target. One of the militaries challenges is communication. Radios and face to face communication are mainstream in these operations; however, these methods are not always the most effective. Our goal in this project was to design a device that made communication easy but secret, so highly sensitive information can be transmitted to save a life.

The Easy Com Armband transmits emergency signals through simple and secret vibrations from one military style armband to another. In special operations when a soldier becomes injured or captured by the enemy, their chances of survival are slim. Emergency radio communication is often ineffective because the enemy witnesses the same transmission and can respond to the military's actions. With our device, a soldier in need of aid can simply tap their armband and transmit a code to fellow soldiers who receive the same code through a series of vibrations. If the U.S. Marines could transmit emergency information in a fully secret manner, imagine how lives could be saved.

The military uses hand signals and short vocal commands to communicate in the heat of combat. However, these forms of communication are limited in the range, versatility, and time required to send a message. Therefore, Zack and I created the Easy Com armband to streamline and expedite communication between soldiers on the front lines. The Easy Com works by connecting two mini arduinos over the internet where they would be able to send and receive binary messages. Users would have to simply press down on a button to activate vibration motors on other devices. Because the Easy Com communicates through vibrations, it is silent. It allows for messages that can be felt instead of audible commands that could get drowned out in the chaos of combat. In addition, the Easy Com is capable of much longer ranges than hand signals or auditory commands. It is capable of using wifi or bluetooth signals to connect devices which would allow for hundreds of feet of range. Our device is also incredibly versatile. Using a vibration based communication system would allow soldiers to create their own coded messages or use a more universal binary code system like morse. Lastly, the Easy Com armband can double as a normal military armband where soldiers can attach badges for their ranks and unit. This offers an additional  level of concealment for communication devices and would also allow for wear out of combat.