KEYWORDS: Web services, Personal digital assistants, Visualization, Process modeling, Computing systems, Computer security, Optimal decision systems, Databases, Internet, Sensors
Next generation collaborative systems must be able to represent the same information in different forms on a broad spectrum of devices and resources from low end personal digital assistants (PDA) to high performance computers (HPC). Users might be on a desktop then switch to a laptop and then to a PDA while accessing the global grid. The user preference profile for a collaboration session should be capable of moving with them as well as be automatically adjusted for the device type. Collaborative systems must be capable of representing the same information in many forms for different domains and on many devices and thus be polymorphic. Polymorphic collaboration will provide an ability for multiple heterogeneous resources (human to human, human to machine and machine to machine) to share information and activities, as well as the ability to regulate collaborative sessions based on client characteristics and needs; reuse user profiles, tool category choices, and settings in future collaboration session by same or different users; use intelligent agents to assist collaborative systems in learning user/resource preferences and behaviors, and autonomously derive optimal information to provide to users and decision makers. This paper discusses ongoing research in next generation collaborative environments with the goal of making electronic collaboration as easy to use as the telephone - collaboration at the touch of the screen.
KEYWORDS: Web services, Java, Telecommunications, Sensors, Standards development, Computer programming, Process modeling, Data processing, Prototyping, Analytical research
The AFRL research programs for the Joint Battlespace Infosphere (JBI) and the Collaborative Enterprise Environment CEE) are the next steps in the evolution of information management from system-centric through network-centric to collaborative information-centric operations. JBI extends the concept of the network-centric system and provides capabilities for intelligent data transformation, information exchange, knowledge sharing, and processing. CEE is an open systems, agent-based, application independent framework that supports product and process modeling and resource workflow to facilitate advanced collaboration among geographically dispersed entities. This paper describes ongoing research efforts in applying distributed collaboration to JBI. The research addresses how CEE events can interact with JBI’s publish and subscribe functionality and how a JBI subscription can trigger a CEE distributed resource workflow. The workflow processes the information, configures the data for collaboration between humans and other resources, and publishes the results of the collaboration back to JBI. A fully integrated CEE JBI environment allows near real-time data to be used in advanced resource collaborations to bring the right information to the right user at the right time.
KEYWORDS: Process modeling, Data modeling, Systems modeling, Systems engineering, Intelligence systems, Analytical research, Defense and security, Virtual reality, Data communications, Data archive systems
Distributed collaboration is an emerging technology for the 21st century that will significantly change how business is conducted in the defense and commercial sectors. Collaboration involves two or more geographically dispersed entities working together to create a “product” by sharing and exchanging data, information, and knowledge. A product is defined broadly to include, for example, writing a report, creating software, designing hardware, or implementing robust systems engineering and capability planning processes in an organization. Collaborative environments provide the framework and integrate models, simulations, domain specific tools, and virtual test beds to facilitate collaboration between the multiple disciplines needed in the enterprise. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is conducting a leading edge program in developing distributed collaborative technologies targeted to the Air Force's implementation of systems engineering for a simulation-aided acquisition and capability-based planning. The research is focusing on the open systems agent-based framework, product and process modeling, structural architecture, and the integration technologies - the glue to integrate the software components. In past four years, two live assessment events have been conducted to demonstrate the technology in support of research for the Air Force Agile Acquisition initiatives. The AFRL Collaborative Environment concept will foster a major cultural change in how the acquisition, training, and operational communities conduct business.
KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Human-machine interfaces, Process modeling, Bridges, Telecommunications, Systems modeling, Analytical research, Data archive systems, Weapons, Intelligence systems
The past decade has produced significant changes in the conduct of military operations: asymmetric warfare, the reliance on dynamic coalitions, stringent rules of engagement, increased concern about collateral damage, and the need for sustained air operations. Mission commanders need to assimilate a tremendous amount of information, rapidly assess the enemy’s course of action (eCOA) or possible actions and promulgate their own course of action (COA) - a need for predictive awareness. Decision support tools in a distributed collaborative environment offer the capability of decomposing complex multitask processes and distributing them over a dynamic set of execution assets that include modeling, simulations, and analysis tools. Revolutionary new approaches to strategy generation and assessment such as Linguistic Geometry (LG) permit the rapid development of COA vs. enemy COA (eCOA). LG tools automatically generate and permit the operators to take advantage of winning strategies and tactics for mission planning and execution in near real-time. LG is predictive and employs deep “look-ahead” from the current state and provides a realistic, reactive model of adversary reasoning and behavior. Collaborative environments provide the framework and integrate models, simulations, and domain specific decision support tools for the sharing and exchanging of data, information, knowledge, and actions. This paper describes ongoing research efforts in applying distributed collaborative environments to decision support for predictive mission awareness.
KEYWORDS: Web services, Process modeling, Visual process modeling, Information technology, Visualization, Standards development, Data communications, Data processing, Data modeling, Personal digital assistants
Distributed collaboration will be a pervasive technology that will significantly change how decisions are made in the 21st century. Advanced collaborative technologies are evolving rapidly with changes in the underlying computer and information technology. Collaboration is typically defined as two or more geographically dispersed entities working together to share and exchange data, information, knowledge, and actions. This paper will address how evolving technologies and new trends such as web services and grid computing will impact distributed collaborative environments. A new conceptual environment called the Collaboration Grid based on these new standards is evolving. The marriage of advanced information, collaboration, and simulation technologies will provide the decision maker with a new generation of collaborative virtual environments for planning and decision support.
KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Intelligence systems, Information technology, Databases, Modeling and simulation, Warfare, Data archive systems, Data communications, Telecommunications, Data fusion
The past decade has produced significant changes in the conduct of military operations: asymmetric warfare, the reliance on dynamic coalitions, stringent rules of engagement, increased concern about collateral damage, and the need for sustained air operations. Mission commanders need to assimilate a tremendous amount of information, make quick-response decisions, and quantify the effects of those decisions in the face of uncertainty. Situational assessment is crucial in understanding the battlespace. Decision support tools in a distributed collaborative environment offer the capability of decomposing complex multitask processes and distributing them over a dynamic set of execution assets that include modeling, simulations, and analysis tools. Decision support technologies can semi-automate activities, such as analysis and planning, that have a reasonably well-defined process and provide machine-level interfaces to refine the myriad of information that the commander must fused. Collaborative environments provide the framework and integrate models, simulations, and domain specific decision support tools for the sharing and exchanging of data, information, knowledge, and actions. This paper describes ongoing AFRL research efforts in applying distributed collaborative environments to predictive battlespace awareness.
Distributed collaboration is an emerging technology that will significantly change how decisions are made in the 21st century. Collaboration involves two or more geographically dispersed individuals working together to share and exchange data, information, knowledge, and actions. The marriage of information, collaboration, and simulation technologies provides the decision maker with a collaborative virtual environment for planning and decision support. This paper reviews research that is focusing on the applying open standards agent-based framework with integrated modeling and simulation to a new Air Force initiative in capability-based planning and the ability to implement it in a distributed virtual environment. Virtual Capability Planning effort will provide decision-quality knowledge for Air Force resource allocation and investment planning including examining proposed capabilities and cost of alternative approaches, the impact of technologies, identification of primary risk drivers, and creation of executable acquisition strategies. The transformed Air Force business processes are enabled by iterative use of constructive and virtual modeling, simulation, and analysis together with information technology. These tools are applied collaboratively via a technical framework by all the affected stakeholders - warfighter, laboratory, product center, logistics center, test center, and primary contractor.
KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Process modeling, Space operations, Systems modeling, Radar, Intelligence systems, Target detection, Sensors, Information technology, Missiles
The past decade has produced significant changes in the conduct of military operations: increased humanitarian missions, asymmetric warfare, the reliance on coalitions and allies, stringent rules of engagement, concern about casualties, and the need for sustained air operations. Future mission commanders will need to assimilate a tremendous amount of information, make quick-response decisions, and quantify the effects of those decisions in the face of uncertainty. Integral to this process is creating situational assessment-understanding the mission space, simulation to analyze alternative futures, current capabilities, planning assessments, course-of-action assessments, and a common operational picture-keeping everyone on the same sheet of paper. Decision support tools in a distributed collaborative environment offer the capability of decomposing these complex multitask processes and distributing them over a dynamic set of execution assets. Decision support technologies can semi-automate activities, such as planning an operation, that have a reasonably well-defined process and provide machine-level interfaces to refine the myriad of information that is not currently fused. The marriage of information and simulation technologies provides the mission commander with a collaborative virtual environment for planning and decision support.
KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Process modeling, Systems modeling, Radar, Target detection, Modeling and simulation, Intelligence systems, Monte Carlo methods, Human-machine interfaces, Sensors
Distributed collaboration is an emerging technology that will significantly change how modeling and simulation is employed in 21st century organizations. Modeling and simulation (M&S) is already an integral part of how many organizations conduct business and, in the future, will continue to spread throughout government and industry enterprises and across many domains from research and development to logistics to training to operations. This paper reviews research that is focusing on the open standards agent-based framework, product and process modeling, structural architecture, and the integration technologies - the glue to integrate the software components. A distributed collaborative environment is the underlying infrastructure that makes communication between diverse simulations and other assets possible and manages the overall flow of a simulation based experiment. The AFRL Collaborative Environment concept will foster a major cultural change in how the acquisition, training, and operational communities employ M&S.
The defense budget is shrinking. Weapon systems are getting more complex. Test requirements are increasing. The training and war gaming scenarios are getting more demanding as fielded systems and training simulators are integrated to support combined arms training. To cope with these requirements and still stay within the budget, the Department of Defense is relying on modeling and simulation. The state of the modeling and simulation (M&S) art has advanced to the point where a user can now create incredibly realistic, extremely detailed models which can augment test and evaluation, support the acquisition process, enhance training and war gaming, facilitate intelligence gathering, and support detailed engineering.
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