Background and Motivation
The demands on soldiers are increasing due to the sophisticated military socio-technical systems used. Depending on the mission scenario and the military activity, there are completely different psychophysical stress patterns, with the ability to recall performance as a result of the high degree of mechanization of military work tasks being of central importance for the successful fulfillment of the mission. Recent developments in the field of wearable bio-sensor technology enable the implementation of a real-time, wireless, body-worn sensor system for the measurement of physiological stress parameters in soldiers due to higher performance, measurement accuracy and runtime, while at the same time significantly reducing size and cost. The definition of the relevant vital parameters for a stress model depends essentially on the stress character of the application scenarios and the individual activities. Based on performance diagnostic parameters and real-time analysis methods, a targeted risk and stress management can be implemented as a decision-making aid for operations managers but also to increase the safety of the soldiers.

Goals and innovation content
The aim of the RT-VitalMonitor project is to develop a real-time system for monitoring the psychophysiological status based on target group-oriented stress models and innovative analysis methods. The aim is to provide continuous, multifactorial and multisensory monitoring of soldiers, providing both an individual picture of the stress situation of each person and an overview of the team situation.
The main research and development goal within the framework of RT-VitalMonitor is to optimize physical performance while at the same time reducing the risk and safety issues associated with physical and/or cognitive fatigue, which ultimately means an optimization of the deployment strategies and the short- and long-term health of the soldiers.

Targeted results
RT-VitalMonitor builds on innovative, existing technological solutions, integrates results from national (VitalMonitor, DEKO-AirTrans, HeatStress) and international (SixthSense, etc.) research projects and ensures research results relevant to military practice through the intensive involvement of experts from the BMLV and the project’s aim of strong international professional networking.