As the Army ventures into the future and becomes increasingly digitized, a need for more technically advanced equipment is imperative. Many such systems use proprietary hardware and software solutions that are often heavy and costly, tying the Army to a specific vendor long after new technology has surpassed the capabilities of these current systems. Rather than relying on a certain vendor or manufacturer, this project has chosen to pursue the implementation of platform-independent software running on common handheld units. The research and development portion of this project included searching for the technology that will best suit the needs of implementing the platform-independent software. This paper discusses the technologies considered and the decisions made regarding that technology. It also describes the use of emulators to facilitate this research. Finally this paper discusses the pros and cons of using emulators in this software development effort.