How can the operator in the command post use all information in an intuitive manner?
For the security of airports or ports, police and military need to have detailed overviews. In this context, the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) has worked on integrating and visualizing all operational (sensor) information in one large screen.The Ministry of Defense commissioned NLR to pursue this research in the framework of the Situational Crisis Management (SCM) project. In the SCM project, an integrated security system was developed that expands the situational awareness of a specific area (base, airport, port) for military and security services. The focus was on detecting, tracking, displaying and communicating the various threats, using a combination of radar sensor information, IR/EO cameras and blue force trackers.
Visualization
NLR has worked on the integration and visualization of operational (sensor) information for the Common Operational Picture (COP), in which the focus is on overview imagery that operators in the command post can use in an intuitive manner. For this, specific attention was focused on the enormous flow of information made available by the connected sensors and on how this information is displayed. This involves the data from various sensors being reduced to that which the user is interested in: abnormal behavior is recognized (anomaly detection) and suggestions are given for follow-up actions.
Video-tracking
NLR has moreover studied how information from (unmanned) aircraft can be integrated in the COP. Due to the flexibility in the observation positioning, an aerial system can fill in the blind spots of the fixed position sensors, thus providing continuity and, if desired, additional details. Further, NLR developed a video-tracking module. With this module, it is possible to provide images of moving aircraft or people from aerial platforms.
NLR’s project partners were Thales Nederland, Vigilance and IFEX. During the project’s final demonstration, all the various technologies were implemented in various operational scenarios during a military exercise at ‘t Harde military base. The demonstration was a success, with for example the video-tracking module being successfully tested and images made available for visualization on the COP.
The following video offers an impression of the military exercise held at ‘t Harde military base: http://magazines.defensie.nl/defensiekrant/2014/15/artikel-xscm
