The U.S. Army has completed testing a sensor system in military vehicles that is designed to help the Army"s Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (Tacom) identify mechanical issues in real time, the Army said Wednesday.

The system, based on IBM middleware and services and tested on the Stryker Brigade"s tactical wheeled vehicles, uses embedded sensors that wirelessly connect with command centers and field units to alert them to problems, according to the Army.

The sensors can also identify the nature of the problem and offer a diagnosis, meaning mechanics in the field won"t have to look under the hood to figure out what"s wrong, the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Armaments Command"s Catherine Jackson said in a teleconference. Jackson is the lead architect on the project.

The health monitoring maintenance system is activated by the vehicle"s operator when it is dispatched, providing updated data about its readiness and -- using Global Positioning System technology -- its location.

According to Jackson, data sent from the field to IBM middleware and partner applications in central locations allows military personnel to quickly decide whether to continue their mission or head back for repairs. They can also determine whether a vehicle needs more fuel.

The information can be viewed simultaneously by the vehicle operator, contact repair team and brigade support battalion on computers with WebSphere Portal Server. Color icons indicate when a problem is detected, the Army said.

The wireless system is designed to provide Tacom"s logistics managers real-time, on-demand access to its Maintainer"s Remote Logistics Network.

The sensors in the Stryker Brigade vehicles use WebSphere MQSeries as a messaging interface to transmit the data from WebSphere MicroBroker and DB2e database software to computers in numerous trucks that transport and replenish parts from various locations, according to IBM. The field data can then be transmitted from the parts trucks, or from local checkpoints, to headquarters via satellite.

Pricing for the system was not disclosed. Army officials are now reviewing the data from the tests to determine whether to deploy the system.