N211-079 TITLE: Enhanced Situational Awareness Through Smart Geospatial Comparative Analysis
RT&L FOCUS AREA(S): Machine Learning/AI;General Warfighting Requirements
TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace Environments; Information Systems
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.
OBJECTIVE: Develop geospatial analytical algorithms to increase speed and alignment to kill chain requirements, in support of a Common Operational Picture (COP). Develop a smart comparative analysis capability to manage data types associated with both geospatial and non-geospatial representations using advanced analytics such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms.
DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Navy requires greater speed of analysis in support of Kill Chain requirements for greater assessment of the environment, positive Identification of threats, and predictive capability to meet growing threat challenges in theater. In order to meet these growing demands, the development of robust technologies for smart geospatial analytics, using modern big data analytics, is needed. Smart geospatial analytics include separation of data and styling information, robust pluggable presentation analytics, and tabular representations. These analytics will feed into a COP for the warfighter, headed by the Maritime Tactical Command and Control (MTC2) system.
The MTC2 system is the Navy's next generation command and control platform providing modernized, robust, secure, integrated, and interoperable network-centric capabilities. MTC2 will replace the legacy planning and decision aid systems and provide a COP in a geospatial display to visualize an operational environment to maintain Command and Control (C2) Situational Awareness (SA).
The Command and Control Acquisition Program Office, PMW 150, currently fields the Global Command and Control System Maritime (GCCS-M) to support COP representation. The current technology is extremely dated and only provides tracks on a map for viewing with some overlays. Modern, state-of-the-art technologies are providing greater depth and analysis geospatially to consumers.
Work produced in Phase II may become classified. Note: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. owned and operated with no foreign influence as defined by DoD 5220.22-M, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, unless acceptable mitigating procedures can and have been implemented and approved by the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency (DCSA). The selected contractor and/or subcontractor must be able to acquire and maintain a secret level facility and Personnel Security Clearances, in order to perform on advanced phases of this project as set forth by DCSA and NAVWAR in order to gain access to classified information pertaining to the national defense of the United States and its allies; this will be an inherent requirement. The selected company will be required to safeguard classified material IAW DoD 5220.22-M during the advanced phases of this contract.
PHASE I: Conduct a study to determine optimum algorithms to perform advanced analytics on geospatial and non-geospatial data to include AI and ML algorithms, and semantic reasoners. Identify the developmental issues and formulate the methodology to include validation concepts which are technically feasible and achievable. The algorithms should be able to ingest geospatial and non-geospatial data to deliver renderings and visually present the data in multiple ways.
Describe the technical solution (i.e., software) based on the investigations and technical trade-offs. For the identified technical solution, develop the Phase II Project Plan to include a detailed schedule (in Gantt format), spend plan, performance objectives, and transition plan for the identified Program of Record (PoR).
Note: The Navy will provide samples of geospatial and non-geospatial data will be provided in Phase I to support an accurate feasibility study.
PHASE II: Develop a software prototype that is able to ingest various data sources and types, including textual and abstract such as Joint Message Handling System (JMHS) for textual and map representations for abstract data types; render geospatially; and evaluate the renderings with algorithms identified in Phase I. The software prototype will be deployable and used for concept validation allowing users to interact under operational condition. The prototype must run in a DEVSECOPS environment, gathering data from the users to feed into requirements for the Program of Record in order to validate concepts.
Provide insight into visual representations that can assess renderings, formulate understanding and provide the information directly to the user. Investigate themes like Semantics for incorporating attribute and computed values within filter criteria, provide dynamic filtering and linkback to external data sources, and automated drill down and queries based on user history. Provide a visualization environment that aligns with using Esri tools, such as the Commercial Joint Mapping ToolKit (CJMTK), and that is malleable to the warfighter's needs and learns from behavior.
It is probable that the work under this effort will be classified under Phase II (see Description section for details).
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Conduct further testing of the prototype on experimentation venues, such as Trident Warrior. Integration will be conducted by NIWC Pacific/Atlantic engineers. Initially, the technology will reside in the C2X environment being developed and fielded for test and evaluation. Once completed, integrate the technology into the existing MTC2 Configuration Management (CM) environment for inclusion in the MTC2 normal release update schedule to provide the warfighter the capability to have information analyzed continuously as the representation changes in the COP. The Smart Geospatial Comparative Analysis will provide significant increase in speed of understanding and will allow decisions to be more informed and analyzed to support the Kill Chain process. Commercially, these capabilities can be applied to current Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) to increase capability for industry use.
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KEYWORDS: Geospatial; analytics; AI; ML; Enhanced situational awareness; SA; comparative analysis; Common Operational Picture; COP; Maritime Operations