August 9, 2011 |
| GeoBriefing |
- Fielding Real-Time, Georeferenced Multi-INT
- GeoHistory: Inventing Imagery Analysis
- GeoSolution: 3D City Models for Urban Analysis
- News & Events
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Fielding Real-Time, Georeferenced Multi-INT
Geospatially relevant intelligence is an advantage to Soldiers engaged in tactical operations, but past technical challenges have limited the flow of critical, real-time information to Soldiers at the edge. Overwatch and AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems recently demonstrated a fully integrated solution that has provided Soldiers real-time access to this revolutionary capability- anytime, anywhere. The demonstration included deployment of the FASTCOM™ mobile airborne communications network and SoldierEyes™ mobile handheld applications with U.S. forces at the Empire Challenge 2011 joint forces exercise, conducted May 23 - June 3 at Fort Huachuca, AZ.
Throughout the exercise, U.S. Soldiers from the Arizona National Guard's 860th Military Police Company and Human Intelligence teams used the end-to-end 3G airborne communications network and smartphone applications to support convoy and intelligence collection operations in the Arizona desert. According to Captain Sean Vergowven, 860th MP Company Commander, Empire Challenge 2011 presented his unit their first opportunity to experience a tactical 3G communications network connecting his unit directly with the Company Intelligence Support Team (CoIST).
Brigade command teams used the FASTCOM network to pipe real-time full motion video and data from airborne assets directly to Soldiers' smartphones. Soldiers used the SoldierEyes mobile handheld applications to collect, report, and transmit georeferenced battlefield information (video, reports, photos and more), effortlessly sharing critical data amongst their unit and CoIST analysts. The real-time communication and intelligence provided each Soldier "a virtual Intel analyst" who supported them as they maneuvered on the ground. In one instance, this allowed the Convoy Commander to see a potential ambush and conduct counter operations that defeated the enemy.
Following two weeks of mock combat, Captain Vergowven stated, "These systems were determined to be a huge force multiplier for our unit. They allowed Soldiers to quickly form a common understanding of their environment, to collect and distribute intelligence from the edge, and collaborate in real time with myself and the CoIST analyst."
Visit the FASTCOM Product Page or Visit the SoldierEyes Product Page
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GeoHistory: Inventing Imagery Analysis
It's challenging to conceive of accurate map making without the benefit of a bird's eye view. It's even more challenging to imagine collecting intelligence on enemy forces when firmly planted on the ground in a hostile environment. Yet cartographers and military officers once struggled in semi-blindness until two technologies, a sensor and an appropriate sensor platform, were united to great effect during World War I.
Commanders began deploying reconnaissance aircraft as soon as the war started in summer 1914. The pilots would attempt to draw the scene below by hand, but that process lacked accuracy and missed many details. Innovators scattered among the French and British forces pushed for photography as a better solution than hand sketches. Leadership was skeptical, so the photo enthusiasts used personal, store-bought cameras to experiment and demonstrate the value of the technology. This evolved into formally recognized imagery operations.
The turning point occurred in the spring of 1915, when British reconnaissance photographed the entire German defensive line in preparation for the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. Maps based upon the fresh intelligence were distributed amongst the troops so they knew exactly where to attack and what obstacles would be encountered. This was the first wide-scale use of aerial photography to support battle strategy, firmly proving the value of aerial photography and establishing imagery analysis as an essential intelligence activity.
Of course, all of this was very new. The process of effectively capturing photos, analyzing the imagery, and distributing the intelligence had to be invented from scratch. Many of the techniques still used by modern imagery analysts were first utilized during WWI, including creating photo mosaics to visualize large areas, introduction of stereo images to better see topographic features, and experimentation with specific light spectra to enhance certain details. Imagery analysis transformed military intelligence, leading to more accurate maps and better tracking and verification of troop strength and movements.
The image in the upper corner is an actual WWI reconnaissance photograph from 1917, showing the trench lines near the village of Hulluch in northern France. The image displays an area 0.4 miles (0.6 km) across. The German lines are to the right, the British to the left. The opposing forces are only about 150 yards apart. It's easy to see the primary defensive trench as well as the network of secondary and even tertiary trenches for support and reserve positions. The trenches are dug in a stepped pattern to prevent any attackers who might gain control of a portion of trench from firing down the full length. The strange vertical line is the remains of a former road.
Aerial imagery has continued to play a critical role, as exemplified by the expansion of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and persistent surveillance sensory platforms. Today's RemoteView™ geospatial software and RemoteView's V-TRAC™ full motion video extension offers far more sophisticated imagery analysis tools that began with the manual methods of WWI.
Visit the RemoteView Product Page
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GeoSolution: 3D City Models for Urban Analysis
High-density urban areas are challenging to assess for security risks, municipal planning, and environmental conditions because they are complex entities. To better understand the urban environment, city managers are increasingly using GIS and remote sensing to evaluate cities in multiple dimensions. For example, using a 3D city model permits more effective simulation of potential threats, leading to better planning and preparedness.
How does an analyst build a database that can produce multidimensional intelligence? What are the steps that an analyst needs to take? What type of imagery and tools are required? This article outlines a potential workflow for creating a 3D city model.
1. Data Acquisition: Locate aerial imagery for your urban area. Find corresponding airborne LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data for modeling raised features such as buildings and vegetation.
2. Create Hillshaded Relief: Use the LIDAR Analyst® plug-in for ArcGIS® to import the LIDAR data and generate a hillshaded relief layer for visualization purposes.
3. Generate Bare Earth: Use LIDAR Analyst software to extract the bare earth using the last return LIDAR data and save as a digital elevation model (DEM).
4. Extract 3D Buildings: Again going back to the Extraction Tools in LIDAR Analyst, select Extract Buildings. The software collects buildings by considering the slope, aspect, and relative height difference between returns. Edit building shapes using the Building Cleanup tools. Save output as a 3D shapefile.
5. Ancillary Vector Data: Seek good sources of vector layers that can show transportation routes, cultural and civic institutions, and administrative boundaries. Import vector files symbolizing primary and secondary roads, making sure to clip to the extent of the imagery using the Clip tool in ArcToolbox.
6. Visualization: In this case, we opened the aerial imagery, bare earth DEM, vector layers, and 3D shapefiles in RemoteView 3D Pro software. 3D Pro includes a variety of customized tools that allow exploitation of the 3D scene, including accurate mensuration, line of sight analysis, bomb blast radius, helicopter landing zones, and virtual fly-through.
If you would like more details, download the PDF below to see this step-by-step process applied to create a 3D city model of downtown Los Angeles using publicly available GIS data.
Download a PDF for More Details about the 3D City Model Workflow
If you're attending this event, don't forget to say hello to our representatives:
Aug 23 |
Wright Patterson AFB |
Dayton, Ohio |
Visit Overwatch's table as part of the TechnologyExpo in the Hope Hotel and Convention
Center. We'll be highlighting RemoteView Pro 3.2 and it's full motion video capability.
Overwatch Contact: Paul Madrid
SoldierEyes, RemoteView, and V-TRAC are trademarks and LIDAR Analyst is a registered trademark of Overwatch Systems, Ltd. FASTCOM is a trademark of AAI Corporation. ArcGIS is a registered trademark of Esri.