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The utilization of commercially based technologies has the ability to greatly reduce the time and cost of military vehicle development. Commercially based technologies also enable the transition of a high level of capability into the military vehicle inventory and to the Army's ultimate customer, the soldier. The Army's National Automotive Center (NAC) has created SmarTruck, a light truck platform enhanced for military concept exploration. SmarTruck is outfitted with telematics, safety, and non-lethal weapon systems technology. It is a prime example of the NAC's central focus, which is dual-use commercial technology transfer. At the core of success for SmarTruck is the application of telematics technologies including embedded diagnostics, advanced electronic architectures, tele-maintenance, and wireless communications.

In this age of high resolution super-computing, technology serves as a resource to develop crew station simulation models for validation of man-machine interfaces and crew operations. The strategy consists of integrating realistic computer generated imagery with prototype hardware to create a near real time crew compartment model. The model employs the use of commercial-off-the-shelf technology combined with developed software and fabricated components to form a reconfigurable crew station concept. This offers a reliable tool to verify and validate emerging vehicle concepts at a potential cost savings when compared to conventional vehicle concept evaluation.