The first Apps for the Army (A4A) go on line this week, only months after the service’s first internal application development challenge launched March 1.
A4A applications–25 of them–will be available for Defense Department CAC-card holders through the DoD Application Storefront on Aug. 3.
The top five winners will be recognized Aug. 5 at the LandWarNet Conference in Tampa, Fla.
Once launched, in 75 days A4A drew 141 soldiers and Army civilians registered individually or in teams to participate, the source said. By the May 15 deadline, 53 web and mobile applications were developed and submitted.
Fifteen winners and 10 honorable mentions were then selected. After passing a security certification, the apps were judged in five categories by a panel from across the Army.
Each of the five categories has first ($3,000), second ($1,500) and third place ($1,000) winners, and honorable mentions.
“These 25 apps represent more than two times the number of certifiable apps we were hoping for and expecting from the program,” Army Chief Information Officer/G-6 Lt. Gen. Jeff Sorenson said. “Each application will help overcome mission-related challenges through the power of mobile and web devices.”
The pilot program is helping design the business processes the service needs to make it easier to develop apps and certify software, Sorenson said.
The top five winning apps include:
The Physical Training Program (iOS) helps soldiers develop their Town PT program based on the Army’s new Physical Readiness Training program. The app provides training plans and videos of exercises. Developers are Maj. Gregory Motes, Capt. Christopher Braunstein and Capt. Stacey Osborn of the Army Signal Center, Ft. Gordon, Ga.
The Telehealth Mood Tracker (Android/iOS) is a self-monitoring app that allows users to track their psychological health over a period of days, weeks and months using a visual analogue rating scale. Users can track experiences associated with deployment-related behavioral health issues. Developers are Robert Kayl, Scott Swim and Robert Van Gorkom of the Madigan Army Medical Center, Ft. Lewis, Wash.
Disaster Relief (Android) is a web-based data survey, dissemination and analysis tool for searching, editing and creating maps viewable on Google Earth and Google Maps. The app helps soldiers working in humanitarian relief and civilian affairs operations. Clients can be most mobile and handheld devices such as PDAs and smart phones. Developers are Andrew Jenkins and Alex Ly of the Engineer Research and Development Center, Alexandria, Va.
Movement Projection (Android) is a map-routing app for road navigation that allows soldiers to input obstacles and threats–in addition to stops, start and end points–and calculates the best and fastest route. Luke Catania of the Engineer Research and Development Center, Alexandria, Va., is the developer.
New Recruit (Android) provides information for potential recruits. Its features include military rank and insignia, Army news feeds, an Army physical fitness test calculator, and a Body Mass Index calculator. Thomas Maroulis of Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., developed the app.
The complete list of 25 winners will be available soon on the CIO/G-6 website, http://ciog6.army.mil/Apps4Army.aspx.
The Army provided app developers with resources such as a cross-platform, cloud based, secure development environment. A4A marks a shift away from traditional Army development practices by using the latest in agile development methods, while focusing on rapid deployment.