Agent-based Semantic Data Management and Visualization (ASDMV)
The Situation
The advanced capabilities of emerging smart sensor technologies open new avenues for modern military operations in general, and for Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) in particular. In tactical environments where obstacles, distance, or adverse conditions limit visibility, the deployment of networked arrays of smart sensors can facilitate the collection of critical information, which could then be assembled into an accurate and easy to comprehend picture of the operational environment. The falling cost of producing and deploying large arrays of sensors has extended both the coverage and the types of events that can be detected and monitored, and has created the opportunity to develop a Smart Sensor Web (SSW) capable of providing the warfighter with forward situation awareness in combat. In combination with recent advancements in wearable computing platforms, the SSW has offered the possibility to design, develop and test the delivery of a real-time overview of the combat area to warfighters directly engaged in MOUT operations.
The Charles River Analytics Solution
Within this specific programmatic context we have developed a model and have developed a prototype of sensor-to-warfighter information transformation centered around three capabilities: event-based sensor clustering, knowledge-based sensor fusion and event interpretation, and contiguous mobile situation awareness. The event-based sensor clustering supports the corroboration of sensor reports applying to the same battlefield event. Agents associated with the individual sensors form dynamic virtual clusters, ensuring the convergence of all information applying to an event. Within each cluster, event management agents use inferential techniques to classify and interpret the event. Finally, a special interface presents the warfighter on his/her wearable device with an event-centric, location-aware description of the battlefield, enabling him/her to maintain a temporally contiguous image of the developments captured by the sensors. The overall prototype implementing this framework was funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) under the SSW program and was managed by the Air Force Research Lab in Rome, NY.
The Benefit
The developed mobile situation awareness solution provides warfighters with a persistent image of the operational area assembled from elementary information items, such as temperature, acoustic signals, or motion detection provided by relatively inexpensive sensors. Unlike solutions based on camera sensors, the framework developed by Charles River Analytics does not require warfighters to continuously review the collected information in order to ensure a comprehensive awareness. The visualization of the inferred events and actions is very easy to assimilate, and provides users with a contiguous image of the developments in the monitored areas while allowing them to concentrate on the operational actions in which they are engaged.
Related Papers:
Gonsalves, P., Grecu, D., Sullivan, O., Broderick, C., Zacharias, G., and Ventimiglia, D. (2003). “Dynamic Fusion in Sensor Webs for Operations in Urban Environments,” 6th International Conference on Information Fusion, Cairns, Australia.
