The new Flashing Light to Text Converter (FLTC) is a ship-to-ship communication system that enables U.S. Navy vessels to use their signal lamps to text message each other. FLTC features (1) a camera that can be mounted atop a signal lamp and hone in on Morse code bursts from another lamp within view, and (2) a hand-held device or laptop computer connected to this camera to display text messages sent and received. To reply to a text, a Sailor can use the device to type a response that is sent back as a Morse code message via specially powered LED lights that flash automatically. FLTC could be extremely valuable if a ship's main communications go down or if it needs to maintain a low electronic signature to avoid detection by an adversary. To learn more, watch the video on YouTube.
For more Navy news, visit the Military.com Navy section.
