Commercial Multimedia Technologies for Twenty-First Century Army Battlefields A Technology Management Strategy (1995) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Meeting Army Needs with Commercial Multimedia Technologies
Meeting Army Needs with Commercial Multimedia Technologies
Pages 48-67
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 48... ...
The technologies are also examined in the context of the multimedia architecture introduced in Chapter 3 as well as other architectures. The committee then assesses the prognosis for future development of the building block technologies and offers recommendations as to whether the Army should adopt commercial technologies, adapt commercial technology, or invest in producing its own technology when drawing upon the building.block technologies to meet its functional requirements.
|
From page 49... ...
Functional Requirements Building Block Technologiesa A Improved situational awareness B
|
From page 50... ...
Distributed computing environments and operating systems Information filtering systems Multimedia database management systems User-friendly multimedia user interfaces 7.
|
From page 51... ...
Further, as discussed below, building block technologies that may require Army-specific developments appear primarily in the bottom and top layers of the multimedia architecture, while the middle-layer technologies are more generic. This arrangement suggests that, in general, COTS technology should be preferred when implementing the middle layers of future information systems.
|
From page 52... ...
As will be discussed below, even where the committee recommends C only, it is recognized that the Army will need to adapt these technologies to take into account Army-specific security needs. Representing security needs in Layer VI of the committee's multimedia architecture as a vertical layer is meant to indicate that security concerns are embedded in all layers of the architecture and should not be used as justification for Army-produced building block technologies where there is a large commercial sector market pull for the development of the same technologies.
|
From page 53... ...
53 ¢ ~ ._ sot o C: o ._ Cal o , o To ._ ._ Cat, ~ V ~ :r, SC <~ V C ~ C ~ ·= ~ C G ~ ~ ; , V ~ C ~ ~ _ ~ it ,lC _- - ~ ~ C U ~ VC .
|
From page 54... ...
There are, however, some areas in which Army-specific requirements may not be met by existing and emerging commercial technology. Improved ruggedness and environmental tolerance of appliances and terminals may be needed to meet Army requirements.
|
From page 55... ...
signals over error-prone environments, and thus the use of battlefield wireless systems to carry ATM will likely be enabled by these COTS standards. Recommendation: C, M, A 55 information Capture Technologies As with many of the building block technologies, much of the Army's gain comes from exploiting those technologies in its systems in which the commercial world has taken a lead.
|
From page 56... ...
Building block technologies discussed under Layer II- System Software of the generic architecture (Figure 3-2) , include (a)
|
From page 57... ...
include information filtering systems; multimedia database management systems; user-friendly multimedia user interfaces (e.g., speech, graphical user interfaces) ; and multimedia information analysis and processing building blocks and middleware services.
|
From page 58... ...
Building block technologies discussed under Layer IV Generic Applications/Enablers of the generic architecture (Figure 3-2) include multimedia information access capabilities; decision support tools, groupware, multimedia teleconferencing; and multimedia messaging capabilities.
|
From page 59... ...
However, as stressed throughout this report, the Army should utilize COTS building block technologies to the maximum extent possible in creating such applications in order to leverage the rapid pace of technological improvements that these building blocks enjoy; and the Army should create such applications in the context of an overall technical architecture to achieve the benefits of building block reuse, interoperability, and the ability to insert new technologies, as discussed earlier and in Chapter 6 of this
|
From page 60... ...
Building block technologies discussed under Layer VI Management/Security of the generic architecture (Figure 3-2) include security technologies; network management systems; and general purpose languages, tools, and development environments.
|
From page 61... ...
Network Management Systems Recommendation C, A Because of the importance of network management in commercial applications and the large R&D efforts under way to create network management products for commercial information networks, the Army should adopt commercial network management technologies and systems off-the-shelf for its network management applications. There will probably be some Army-specific modifications required to deal with specific security requirements and concerns regarding multiple, simultaneous failures of network elements.
|
From page 62... ...
The Army's strategy for change, described variously within the context of "Force XXI," the "Enterprise Strategy," "joint Venture," and the "Louisiana Maneuvers," also recognizes that the application of multimedia information distribution technologies will lead to fundamental changes in organization, doctrine, training, and all the activities associated with how the Army prepares for and executes combat operations (Army Director, Louisiana Maneuvers Task Force, 1995 and Department of the Army, 19939. While all the ramifications of how military organizations and warfare could change in the next century may not be clear, the goal of applying the technologies through digitization of the battlefield is to achieve overwhelming battlefield success rapidly and with few casualties.
|
From page 63... ...
Army Commanders, the Battlefield, and Multimedia Technology The committee recognizes that the Army has extensive plans for the operational evaluation of the application of information technologies as part of its efforts to digitize the battlefield. While doctrinal and organizational decisions will evolve from these evaluations, it is useful at this point to describe how commanders in a particular combat operation might use the technologies identified in Chapter 3 to meet the functional requirements outlined in Chapter 2.
|
From page 64... ...
The images are transCOMMERCIAL MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES FOR 7.WENTY-FIRST CEN7V2YARMYBA TTLEFIELDS misted securely with precise time and location tags. The commander (a)
|
From page 65... ...
This sharing is a goal of many commercial enterprises. The technology challenges lie in transitioning existing legacy systems; building open and distributed computing environments that are secure and
|
From page 66... ...
The Army will also have to influence commercial technology trends to accommodate its unique security and access control requirements (if they are unique) , as well as the serious network management challenges associated with multiple, simultaneous failures of equipment that can occur in battlefield situations.3 Finally, the Army must create physical packaging technologies or influence commercial trends to accommodate its unique or more compelling requirements with respect to emissions of electromagnetic interference, resistance to nuclear radiation and EMP pulse effects, shock and vibration resistance, and ruggedness in general.
|
From page 67... ...
To illustrate how using commercial multimedia technologies could meet Army operational needs and functional requirements, an operational example was given. This example was followed by an analysis that indicated some of the challenges that will have to be met in order to achieve this futuristic state.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.