GEOINT 2011

November 8, 2011 By: Art Kalinski

The Geospatial Community Braces for Cuts

As usual, the mega GEOINT 2011 Conference was like drinking from a fire hose. There was much to see and too many sessions to attend but the folks who run the conference, USGIF (U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation), did a phenomenal job maximizing everyone’s time with three tools that were extremely helpful. First they published and distributed a very professional slick show daily that recapped the main sessions from the previous day while highlighting the schedule for the current day. Second, they put on a daily video show highlighting keynote speakers and technology briefs with industry leaders. This video program was playing constantly at conference lounge locations and on local hotel television systems. They also arranged to have the TV program running on your TV when you returned to your room at the end of a conference day. Third, most of the videos and publications are available online here. This has been a great way to review presentations or catch presentations that were missed. The combination of print and video media really helped maximize the conference experience.

Keynotes

The opening keynote was given by James R. Clapper, Jr., director of National Intelligence. Director Clapper talked about the new NGA campus south of D.C. that was built to encourage collaboration. He emphasized the continuing effort towards horizontal and vertical integration including law enforcement agencies, citing the direct assignment of 12 DNI reps to the FBI.

The silence in the room increased when the director started talking about budget challenges and “giving at office.” He highlighted that our economic problems provide a threat in itself so they can’t be ignored. He said that at the end of the Cold War we didn’t manage the “Peace dividend” well by not thinking through cuts to programs and personnel. He does not want to repeat that mistake and wants to continue hiring new analysts and developers to provide “new blood” while also continuing our R&D efforts. Of special interest to the audience was his mention of reduction in contractors as part of the cuts but not to the point of mission degradation.

On the plus side he saw a huge potential for savings in IT which could account for the bulk of budget cuts. He specifically mentioned savings through cloud computing, integration of open-source and common IT architecture which would also provide better security and easier access. Highlighting his desired direction, Director Clapper pulled out a favorite quote from New Zealand physicist Earnest Rutherford, who said, “We’re running out of money so we must begin to think.”

In her keynote, Letitia A. Long, director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), talked about Family Day at their new headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Her overarching goal is to provide actionable information fast enough to give our leaders more time to decide and prepare responses. She discussed some of the tools and content from NRO or commercial sources that are discoverable, accessible, and usable even through secure mobile devices. She sees a three-tiered delivery model — full service, assisted service and self-service, since so many users are already GIS savvy.

She demonstrated one example relating to the agency's support for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). NGA had been producing custom Atlases to support FEMA during disaster response. The agency staff assembled, printed, and distributed maps, imagery, and other support data as needed. Speed and the inability to quickly update the publications was a problem, so for hurricane Irene the staff tried totally mobile support with IPADs. The mobile pads provided interactive rather than static atlases with the ability for users to zoom and pan pre- and post-Irene maps and imagery.

This approach proved especially valuable responding to the Joplin tornados, because buildings and even street signs were gone so there was a need for before and after imagery. Command post FEMA personnel took advantage of rapid access to Homeland Security data that includes include most government and commercial facilities. At the same time, mobile devices empowered users in the field to send geospatial data back to the command post including current photos. As a result, FEMA personnel had the data and time needed to do more sophisticated analysis. One example Director Long cited was locating and measuring the impact of swine lagoon contamination on nearby water supply facilities. This was a surprisingly complex GIS-based task that would not have been feasible just years before.

She explained a similar support effort for military pilots who typically have to lug around a 90-pound flight kit containing printed maps and charts, many that have to be reprinted every 28 days. The agency is currently beta testing an IPAD application that permits pilots to view, zoom, and pan maps without the annoyance of unfolding charts in a crowded cockpit. The maps and charts are always up-to-date, saving time and considerable printing expense.

Additionally, the iPADs provide more complex views such as a 3D LiDAR model she showed in support of the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Having ready access to a vast array of data also permits users to act rather than react. Director Long showed another example in Yemen where U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data was showing that the use of well water was exceeding the replenishment rate. The GIS tools permit analysts to think spatially, display visually while overlaying classified data, and even human geography to predict and anticipate needed actions or support.

Gen. Keith B. Alexander, U.S. Army, Commander-USCYBERCOM, director-NSA, talked about GEOINT and signals intelligence integration in the cyber world. He cited that cyber attacks on industry are now responsible for one trillion dollars worth of transfer of wealth per year. Additionally, disruptive attacks are increasing, such as the recent shut down of the Estonia banking system followed by Georgia, Latvia, and others. Although not a cyber-attack, he talked about the potential, such as the cascading 2003 northeastern power outage in North America or Russia’s 2009 power station crash where one software problem caused a 1,000 ton turbine to fail with cascading damage to the other turbines. The resulting catastrophic shut down of the 6.4 gigawatt station also caused the deaths of 72 station workers.

The general explained how cyber world analysts need to place cyber events into the context of their physical and virtual locations so working with the GEOINT community was a necessary integration. He further discussed how cloud technology will actually increase security while increasing accessibility.

Open Source Panel

There was a well-attended panel discussion on open source software which seemed to be touched by most keynote speakers as a way to reduce costs while increasing development speed and capability. The moderator cited GRASS as a very early example of Open Source of Geospatial software. Ann Carbonell of NGA shared how NGA benefited from open source, especially the enhancements to LiDAR usability. Retired Air Force Colonel Paul Hastert talked about 10-year-old FalconView, which is now open source and has become a somewhat common GIS-based platform for flight planning and many other uses.

Air Force Major Chris Quaid talked about the need for very rapid application development. Instead of month and weeks, new requirements are sometimes needed in several hours. The open source environment is not so much a technology shift as an organizational shift. All presenters agreed that Open Source is just as secure as other software, but carries with it the benefit of many users finding bugs and potentially offering faster solutions.

Expo

I wasn’t able to spend as much time as I wanted in the EXPO area, but two technologies did catch my eye. On the higher equipment end was Mobius, an optionally piloted aircraft system (OPAS) that can be manned or unmanned. The very light composite fiber aircraft can carry a 1000-pound payload and is capable of hands-free take off and landing.

On the more affordable software side (free to federal users) was a map viewer that works with Adobe Acrobat. The viewer, Memento by North Avenue Technologies, can seamlessly view multiple GeoPDFs in one window. The application was developed for Army AGC to streamline viewing of GeoPDFs.

The opening GEOINT video sums up everyone’s concerns and is a “must view” video. Specifically: That another attack on the homeland is likely. That nuclear or biological weapons could change the entire world order. That if we don’t look at and integrate all data sources we may miss stuff, resulting in delayed or poor decisions. That everything is moving faster and changing in hours, not weeks or months. That our troops in-theater have learned that integration and collaboration is the new norm with the UBL raid being one example.

There were dozens of other sessions that I wish I could have attended, so this is just one man’s view of the elephant. I suggest that you go to the USGIF websites to learn more. With Veterans Day approaching, I am reminded of all those that I served with and especially those who paid a heavy and even ultimate price freeing people around the world. I’d like to leave you with this thought.

There are those who question American exceptionalism, citing blemishes on our history such as slavery and the Civil War. I, however, point to the Civil War with pride since this is the only country in the history of the world that fought a war with itself to free its own slaves.