Cognitics, Inc. proposes a novel software system that combines a geospatial database and a 3D-simulated environment with technology developed by Lockheed Martin for targeting systems. The new software system will be able to precisely identify the camera position and orientation for each frame of video, and use that information to accurately overlay the video frames with a wide variety of geospatial and map features. This technology can dramatically increase the situational awareness of UAV pilots by displaying and/or highlighting the location of targets, troops, landmarks, or any other item that has a geographic location component.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has a huge amount of experience and technology in targeting and fire control. In this field, it is critical to determine the position of the camera (e.g. a missile, or an aircraft) with a greater precision than is available from GPS and flight data (e.g. compass, altimetry, bank, attitude) alone. Lockheed has developed a system that compares frames from a video feed with a simulated environment that represents ground truth for a given area, and builds a transformation matrix that can correct the GPS position to be obtain an even more accurate position. This allows targeting and fire control to be extremely precise.
Cognitics is a leader in geospatial data preparation and generation in the defense simulation industry. To accurately display features on a video feed from a UAV, we propose to leverage the technology originally researched and developed by Lockheed Martin for targeting and fire-control systems with cutting edge simulation technology. First, a synthetic 3D environment representing the "ground truth" is generated and rendered according to the camera...
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...added to allow dynamic content to be shown to the end user in real-time. For example, a moving vehicle could be highlighted or represented via a symbol in real-time based on remote telemetry. Controlled airspace can be updated in real-time to show the pilot what areas are cleared for flight. Thus, at the conclusion of Phase II, the Air Force will receive the capability to overlay the video feeds from UAVs with data such as map features and tactical information in real-time.
For this project, Lockheed Martin will work as a subcontractor. Cognitics employees will work closely with research and engineering personnel from Lockheed Martin to leverage the existing research in this area and to apply the results to fielded systems. Lockheed Martin will provide access to data, information, source code, expertise and facilities as needed to insure the success of this effort.
PRECISION ENGAGEMENT provides NORAD the capability to precisely engage threats throughout the full range of our surveillance coverage to ensure off-shore threat engagement well before air and space weapons threaten Canadian or American citizens. This requires agile platforms with lethal munitions to enage targets more responsively and accurately from longer distances and precise, immediate operational assessments with the agility to re-engage if required. The system will include a flexible, near real-time targeting architecture, including space-based wide area surveillance, rapid identification, tracking, and near real-time sensor to shooter links.
The airmobility concept is one of Army Aviation’s most prominent battlefield innovations, almost single handedly shaping the Vietnam War and in many ways, helping to influence how we fight wars today. In its essence, airmobility is a concept that utilizes Army aircraft in order to enhance the ground forces’ ability to perform the five fundamentals of combat: command and control, firepower, intelligence, mobility, and communications (Rottman, 2007). At the zenith of the airmobility concept is the airmobile assault or commonly known today as, the air assault. The airmobile assault was more than just moving troops from point A to point B; it involved intense planning and preparation. When implemented correctly, the airmobile assault provided light infantry greater mobility on the battlefield, along with the ability to seize the initiative and to synchronize attacks.
While a large part of NGC’s strategy is devoted to prime contract development of capability-based systems for the Department of Defense, NGC also provides professional engineering services to provide value to its customers. Professional Engineering Services can be provided by Northrop Grumman in direct support contract or through inter-industry agreements. One such agreement is the participation on a large FFRDC effort known as the MDA Engineering team. This is an organization oriented around providing the best industry knowledge in the missile defense field to assist and guide MDA as it evolves the nation’s missile defense capability.
Fixed cameras cannot operate indoors as they require line-of-sight and intrude on indoor construction processes. Therefore, they’re mostly used only in the early stages of construction and lose their effectiveness as erected walls start to obstruct their line-of-sight [6]. It has been found in a comprehensive survey conducted in [6], that the interior construction sites are the area that cameras have the least impact due to obstruction of line-of-sight. Unfortunately, this hugely affects the impact of the current research on indoor vision-based progress monitoring techniques. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), equipped with different sensors and a camera, can be one solution to this problem as they provide fast, easy, and cost-effective access to high-resolution images of different locations of complex indoor construction site. The use of autonomous ( or manually controlled) UAVs completely automates the data collection phase, reduces the need for labor-intensive and regular manual inspections, and therefore significantly eliminates the non-value adding processes [7]. Furthermore, the cost, previously proved to be the main barrier for practical implementation of cameras at indoor construction sites [6], hugely is reduced as there’s no need for
The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is a United States military term for remote weapon station systems for use within armored vehicles. The US military has fielded both the M101 CROWS and M153 CROWS II systems. The CROWS system provides an operator with the ability to acquire and engage targets while inside a vehicle, protected by its armor. It is designed to mount on a variety of vehicle platforms and supports the Mk 19 grenade launcher, M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun, M240B Machine Gun, and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. This paper will discuss the operation system of the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) and its uses within the military forces as it relates to today’s society.
Several military robotic automation systems already operate at the level where the human is still in charge and responsible for the deployment of lethal force, but not in a directly supervisory manner. The Phalanx system for Aegis-class cruisers in the Navy is designed to be the last line of defense against anti-ship missiles. The gun mount moves with rapid precision. The system takes a low amount of input from the ship, making it capable of functioning despite potential damage to the ship. There are several settings for the Phalanx system, with the final fail safe setting of “casualty” that will defend the ship from air attacks without human selection of targets. The MK 69 encapsulated torpedo (CAPTOR) sea mine system was the U.S. Navy's standard anti-submarine mine during the Cold War, having enough computer power t...
Have you ever awoken from a dream yearning intensely that the dream had lasted for a few more seconds so you could have collected that last sparkly diamond from the treasure or saved your friend from drowning or kissed your crush? Fortunately, you are living in an era where you don’t have to live with this regret forever. You’ve got much more than you might imagine completing that dream you had woken up out of too early with so many options such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, etc. The two of the hottest technologies today have to be augmented reality and virtual reality.
There are many agencies that have the ability to perform Signals Intelligence, electronic reconnaissance and most of all signals intelligence from all available sources inducive to the environment. The United States Army uses the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) as its main entity for signals collection. The Joint STARS platform was designed to provide a highly effective, real-time, collection tool to the ground task force commanders during battlefield engagements, but for the past ten years, the sensor has been used for peacekeeping missions. Army analysts can predict the enemy’s behavior by identifying choke points, potential avenues of approach and operating patterns such as supply routes and logistical points. The analysis gives the ground commander a more complete view of the enemy’s weaknesses. The United States Air Force employs the Joint STARS in a different mission than the Army. The Air Force uses Joint STARS as a battlefield management tool versus a collection tool as used for by the Army. The Air Force uses the platform to provide immediate and direct support to the Air Component Commander and continue to observe the enemy’s movement from a far distance in the sky. Providing essential data to commanders such as size, direction, and speed of the adversaries, with minimum casualties while under battlefield conditions, makes the Joint STARS an extremely effective tool. The Air Force also employs the Predator vehicles, which are unmanned aerial vehicles that are used for reconnaissance.
One important element to the system is that each military vehicle is tracked by satellite and it appears as a moving blue icon on a computer screen inside these Humvees that have been equipped with the Army Battle Command System, this is important to the Humvee driver because now he is able to know where all tanks and other army vehicles are located and this is said to have helped reduce the amount of friendly fire incidents. Back before they had this technology the drivers would have to radio back to the command base and inform them on there location, “No longer do you have guys on a map putting little stickers where things are at, now it is digitally done. It allows commanders to move more rapidly, more decisively, more violently.” [1]
Tice, Brian P. (1991). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – The Force Multiplier of the 1990s. Airpower Journal.
The ability to superimpose real-time computer animation onto the real world is commonly known as augmented reality (AR). AR differs from virtual reality where it requires the real time markers for it to function. It allows merging of virtual information with the real environment to provide users with more immersive interaction with their surroundings. AR provides new experience of the real world that is unlike another computer animation that draws the users away from the real world and onto the screen (Hainich & Rolf, 2006).
There was a time a person would use a roadmap to get from one location to another. Some also would stop and ask for directions. Today, you seldom see paper maps and people stopping at a local gas station for directions. Many vehicles come with a navigation system that provides a real-time map of the vehicle’s current location as well as systematic directions to requested destination.
GPS is a navigational aid that is satellite based. It is made up of a network of 24 satellites in orbit around the world. The first satellite was launched in 1978 and the last was put into orbit in 1994. Every 10 years another satellite is put into orbit because each satellite is made to last that amount of time. The system began as a military application but in the 1980’s the government decided to make it available to everyone, anywhere, anytime. The system finds your position by measuring the time it takes to receive the signal back to the satellite. It then does that with other satellites to triangulate your position in relation to the earth. To calculate a position in 2D the system has to be locked on to at least three satellites, but for a 3D representation you need to be locked on to at least 4 satellites. Once the position is found the GPS can calculate much more info like speed, bearing, track, distance, etc… The GPS system is very accurate; Garmin (a leader in GPS technology) states that their newest receiver is accurate up to an average of 15 meters.
There are many types of technological developments in the military happening at all times. They range from new aircraft to sophisticated guidance systems. Teams of specialists work for years to develop some of our simplest equipment. These people’s everyday lives are devoted to the safety and protection of the citizens of the U.S.
Technology is getting smarter each and every day as we look towards the future. There are many state-of-the-art products and programs that are being developed to fit our needs. One the biggest devices that came out recently is Virtual Reality. Virtual reality is also known as “VR”. Virtual Reality is a computer engineered simulation of a three-dimensional image or setting. It can be interacted with almost a real or physical way by a person using special equipment. Some equipment includes a helmet with a screen inside and gloves or remotes fitted with sensors. Virtual reality is becoming more popular as major companies are developing the technology and making it more accessible to the community. Many people ask the question such as “What is