Three Days of GEOINT Tech
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS URGED TO WORK TOGETHER TO DEFINE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS.
As geospatial intelligence continues to define itself as a profession, gaps remain between the needs of geoint-using government agencies and the growing number of academic programs in the field, according to a recent roundtable of experts.
The panel on geospatial intelligence tradecraft was one of the highlights of GEOINT Tech Days, held this spring by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF). The three-day event included two days of restricted-attendance demonstrations by NGA directorates and offices, followed by an open day of presentations and industry exhibits.
The roundtable featured representatives of six universities, who described a wide range of programs available in geospatial information and related fields. Participants also reflected on broader issues as well, including such topics as curriculum and recruitment.
“The geospatial intelligence profession is still taking shape,” said Kenneth I. Daugherty, chief executive officer of Geo- Spatial Concepts, who moderated the session. “Agencies are struggling with what they want people to know and be able to do.”
As a result, Daugherty said, “There needs to be more dialogue between academia and government agencies about what a geoint professional should look like.”
Another theme running through the discussion concerned the relative advantages of GIS certificate programs in comparison with formal academic degrees, as well as between hands-on operational training and a strong grounding in scientific disciplines. The USGIF is currently developing standards for certification programs, which generally are shorter and less expensive than full-fledged degree programs.
The Geospatial Intelligence Graduate Certificate Program at Virginia’s George Mason University, for example, calls for completion of four core and two elective courses, for a total of 18 credit hours, available either as standard semester-long sessions or as intensive week-long modules. The University of Redland’s Master of Science in GIS program, on the other hand, involves a full-year residential program with 42 credits and a required special project, at a cost comparable to an Ivy League college.
Todd Bacastow of Pennsylvania State University, which offers both a master’s in GIS degree and “post-baccalaureate” certification in both GIS and geoint, commented on the need to address a lack of geoint expertise. “GIS certificate programs don’t teach enough critical thinking,” said Bacastow, who is a professor of practice for geospatial intelligence.
One problem, he observed, is that many students seem more eager to learn how to use software rather than to engage in analytical thinking. But, he added, “We’re not training—we are educating. We’re not just teaching people how to ‘turn the crank.’”
Another issue centered on efforts to recruit geoint program graduates by intelligence agencies, which may not be able to compete in terms of pay with private companies. Bill Stein of New Mexico State University noted that virtually all of that program’s recent graduates had taken jobs with industry, and stressed the need to develop more student internships with intelligence agencies and help students get government security clearances.
EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS
In addition to a day-long “Emerging Technologies Showcase,” with presentations by government agencies and industry groups, GEOINT Tech Days included exhibits showcasing more than 40 companies and government agencies. Exhibitors included major geospatial industry players such as ESRI, Digital Globe, GeoEye and Intergraph; IT powerhouses such as IBM, Microsoft and Oracle; and systems integrators that included BAE Systems and SAIC.
To give a flavor of the wide range of products and services on display at the public exhibition, following are highlights of a crosssection of other participating companies.
AGI. Every day, the geoint community is faced with questions that require them to analyze GIS data against time-dynamic data to find answers. Often, GIS software packages do not contain the tools needed to perform this dynamic analysis. Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI) software enables the seamless integration of GIS data into a dynamic environment to solve problems such as communications analysis with terrain constraints or imaging opportunities over an area of interest. AGI’s STK software and the GIS Analyst Extension can ingest spatial data directly from the geospatial environment and through layers, analytically combining them with simulated or real-time models of the airborne platform and its parameters. AGI technology, used with other GIS software packages and geospatial data, creates a unique environment for the geoint community to maximize analysis results for the tasks at hand. Whether performing communications calculations or finding the best satellite imaging opportunity, STK brings dynamic analyses to the GIS world.
iMove. iMove is a developer of immersive video security solutions for wide-area surveillance that provides operators enhanced situational awareness and maximum actionable intelligence. The company’s patented, software-based immersive solutions seam multiple, synchronized video streams creating a panoramic (up to full spherical) video, allowing the operator to look in every direction. iMove’s solutions provide cost-effective, innovative ways to capture, observe, evaluate, plan and respond faster to today’s threat environment that far exceed the capabilities of traditional video solutions.
iMove’s GeoView solutions offer a significant advancement over maps and aerial reconnaissance, providing homeland security first responders, intelligence analysts and warfighters the virtual ability to be “street level, at the scene” and to experience the mission route. Collected geo-referenced immersive video easily integrates into most major GIS applications (Google Earth, ArcView, FalconView and MapGuide), giving end users the ultimate in situational awareness.
Merrick & Co. is a full-service engineering firm. It offers software called Merrick Advanced Remote Sensing (MARS), which is a production-quality Windows application specifically designed for processing, analyzing and managing terrain data. Described by the company as the “best LiDAR software on Earth,” it offers application features that include project management, data management, data navigation and visualization, control point reporting, automated and manual data classification tools, and 3-D coordinate transformation. Data generation functions include profile line (cross sections), contours, grids and breaklines. Data analysis capabilities include feature extraction, viewshed calculations, site selection analysis, planar analysis and LAS statistics.
SPADAC. In a recent simulation of a terrorist group in the San Francisco Bay area, SPADAC identified tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) for using and abandoning safe houses in order to evade the attention of authorities. SPADAC demonstrated that its predictive analytics methodology can be used to better target areas where the group is likely to procure, use and dispose of safe houses, enabling law enforcement official to better allocate resources to reduce threat.
For the exercise, SPADAC analysts combined conventional geospatial analytic techniques with SPADAC’s proven predictive analysis and fusion methodology, which includes the ability to consider thousands of factors in the analysis and discovery of patterns in TTP. Using open source information on the group, SPADAC analysts trained the simulation to recognize more specific locations with discrete characteristics.
Following the generation of the initial TTP signature, SPADAC then used the data from later in the year to recognize a shift in the TTP, the signature of which became a new set of factors to consider in the predictive modeling for the first half of 2007. The analysis was much more precise than one resulting from traditional geointelligence analysis, targeting with a street or block level compared with neighborhood or ZIP code resolution.
The final result is a simulation in which traditional GIS modeling, SPADAC technology and subject matter expertise combine to derive a pattern of threat that provides a much more focused allocation of scarce law enforcement resources. ♦
