|
Case
Stories
ITT Advanced Engineering & Sciences Provides Naval Research
Laboratory With Engineering Support Services
The Naval
Research Laboratory (NRL) is the U.S. Navy's premier technology
laboratory for original research and development. Commissioned in
1928, the NRL conducts a broad-based, multidisciplinary program of
scientific research and advanced technology development. Personnel
from ITT Advanced Engineering and Sciences (AES) have been a key
part of this rich history of technological development at the NRL
for almost three decades.
With
over 150 AES technical support staff providing professional
engineering services ranging from research and development through
prototyping, AES serves the NRL in a variety of areas relating to
information technology and information warfare. Explaining the role
of AES at the NRL, Mike Wilson, Vice President and Director of the
Information Dominance Business Unit at AES, notes that, "We work
side by side with the NRL as a team partner, both in very
fundamental work on the leading edge of research as well as design
and prototyping work that often gets applied to acquisition
programs."
Augmented reality, virtual reality, computer and network assurance,
moving gigabits of visual data around networks…these are a sampling
of the projects AES is working on at the NRL in support of overall
information technology initiatives.
Advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Imagine you are leading a platoon of infantrymen in enemy territory.
The terrain is making communication difficult and in the fading
light, you think you detect movement in the distance. Are they
friendly or enemy troops? What should be your course of action?
In
the near future, thanks to engineering work from AES, you'll be able
to pull a tiny unmanned aerial vehicle from a backpack. After
launching the UAV you'll be able to look at a monitor to receive a
live broadcast to determine your tactical situation. The development
at the NRL of the man-portable Dragon Warrior and Dragon Eye UAVs
represent key research, design, and prototyping work provided to the
NRL by AES. These small, re-usable, man-packable, UAV will be used
for "over-the-hill" reconnaissance and will provide near-real time,
day/night imaging for small units of combat troops.
In
parallel to this work on advanced UAVs, AES is also assisting the
NRL in the development of another unmanned vehicle for use in a very
hostile environment as well as an experimental glider for use in
future exploratory Mars missions.
Engineering Support for
Information Technologies
Another example of research and prototyping work provided to the NRL
by AES is the Battlefield Augmented Reality System (BARS). With a
look-through set of goggles, BARS allows the user to superimpose
additional layers of reality and data from external databases.
AES
has developed a fully functional prototype of a multi-user,
distributed, wearable computer infrastructure for warfighters
operating in the urban environment. By using a see-through,
head-worn display and outdoor tracking technology, vital strategic
information is overlaid on each user's view of the world. For
instance, as a warfighter looks at a building through BARS, he may
want to see an overlay of the electrical systems for that building.
They
would receive this information from military planners who might be
hundreds or thousands of miles from the area of conflict to
construct a tactical picture of the environment and the objects that
populate it.
Virtual Reality
Supporting the development of BARS as well as other applications of
virtual reality (VR) at NRL is the VR GROTTO (Graphical Room for
Observation, Tactical Training and Orientation). GROTTO is a
cave-like system that provides an immersive virtual environment.
Supported by AES personnel in algorithm development and design as
well as demonstrations, the technology in the VR GROTTO allows the
user to view this virtual surroundings as he would in a real-world
environment. Besides being a useful system for battlefield
visualization, the GROTTO is well suited for training and tactical
planning. Given a specific battle situation, a commander can explore
and visualize diverse strategies before issuing mobilization orders.
Internet-Based High Definition
Television
Moving high-resolution visual information through the internet is a
challenge for the military today. Working with the Center for
Computational Sciences (CCS) at NRL, AES is conducting research in
high speed computing to prove out very high speed optical networking
and mass storage technologies for future, high definition television
applications.
As
described by John Urban, Department Manager of the Information
Technology Department at AES, "We've gone from Ethernet speeds to
ATM speeds to gigabit speeds to terabytes of storage, all to
demonstrate how large amounts of visual data can be stored and
processed over a network." The current focus of AES research is in
testing an experimental platform that moves high definition motion
imagery over the internet. The practical applications of this
imagery will extend to many military and intelligence missions where
the visual assessment of a tactical situation by people far removed
from the scene is important.
Artificial Intelligence
Through algorithm development, prototyping and demonstrations, AES
is assisting the NRL in efforts designed to address the application
of artificial intelligence technology and techniques to critical
Navy and national programs. AES is working with the Navy Center for
Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence (NCARAI) in research
directed toward understanding the design and operation of computer
systems capable of improved performance based on experience. These
research efforts apply to areas of artificial intelligence such as
robotics, speech interfaces, and man-machine interfaces.
High Assurance Computing
Because the battlefields of today and into the future will include
the realm of cyberspace, computer and network security is of great
concern. For over a decade, AES has been providing the NRL's Center
for High Assurance Computing Systems with engineering and analytic
services to support the development of innovative offensive and
defensive information warfare capabilities.
As
explained by Wilson, "We are looking at the next generation of
internet security tools with the ability to engage in "defense in
depth" on a network, not just at the firewall stage. We are dealing
with issues such as network authentication, denial of service, and
identity and data security."
The
focus areas for these research activities include security measures
for cryptographic protocols, trusted computer systems, trusted
networked systems, and secure digital voice systems.
A Trusted Partner of the NRL
In
describing the valuable partnership spirit of work at the NRL, Urban
notes that, "The AES people working here at the NRL are highly
talented, creative and able to think outside the box. We've been
here for about 30 years.
We
are a trusted partner and understand the entrepreneurial spirit that
pervades the research and development process at NRL."
More
Products In Action |
