Energy expenditure during operational circumstances: An approach using and improving available monitoring systems recently applicated in Units of the Dutch Armed Forces

Purpose: Light infantry units, such as the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps and the Dutch Airmobile Brigade, are expected to carry out multiple-day missions in isolated and challenging environments with limited access to supplies. Next to exceptional resilience, these operations also require a tailored energy balance. As such, the capability to monitor, e.g., near real-time energy expenditure, would help commanders of these units to optimize tactical and logistical decision-making to mitigate exhaustion and avoid attrition. For a decade, several projects within the Dutch MoD offered different monitoring systems capable of quantifying Human Performance. Hence, increasing numbers of servicemen from different units carry wearable technology to evaluate their status on dashboard devices. However, a) it is unclear which of these different systems can best be used in these settings and, b) it is unclear to what extent this technology must be improved to monitor valid energy expenditure (EE) as a human augmentation technology. Method: a) To provide an overview of the monitoring systems' capabilities, we assessed all the monitoring systems currently in operation through technical inquiries with developers and administrators. b) To stipulate a system that is secure, stable, reliable, and capable to monitor in realtime, a series of iterative trials will be conducted using two monitoring systems. A six-month, crosssectional validation study has been planned to achieve this objective. Results: a) All pros and cons regarding, e.g., purpose, metrics, quality, wearable devices, comfort, reliability, security, connectivity, battery life, database architecture, and data presentation, were assessed and weighted. Two systems showed the maturity and capability to address the specific system requirements for measuring EE. b) The research will concentrate on data security and valid sensor information. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to validate an integrated monitoring system that might improve operational effectiveness by measuring and monitoring EE. Conclusion: Though both systems had different emphases on performance, an integrated system showed promising potential to reach real-time monitoring capabilities in military contexts. Military Impact: This method of evaluating, selecting, combining, and assessing existing systems presents an alternative to the lengthy and expensive process of acquiring new products. The findings will contribute to making informed decisions on improving accessible monitoring systems. The current monitoring systems will be presented at ICSPP, including their specifications and the criteria that we applied to select the best two systems for monitoring EE. In addition, the design of the validation study will be discussed.