This Slashdot post talks about TIGR, the Tactical Ground Reporting System, which the US military developed for groupd troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Developed as much on the
ground in active warzones as in a lab, TIGR lets platoons access the
latest satellite and drone imagery in an easy-to-use map based
interface, as well as recording their experiences in the field and
accessing the reports of other troops."
For more details, see the interview with the developers. Some fascinating quotes, including:
soldiers learn ... the area that they're
assigned. That is they learn the people. They learn the villages. They
learn the roads. And that knowledge that they gain over the course of a
deployment is often times lost. When those soldiers rotate back to the
United States and new soldiers come in and are assigned a territory,
then they come in without all of that knowledge. They used to come in
without all of that knowledge. And that was actually a very, very
dangerous period of time called the turnover of authority. And one
thing TIGR has done is that TIGR has made all of that information
available to the soldiers that are coming in new, as it were, to an
area, so that they're acclimated and have good knowledge of the people
and the places and the roads and things of this sort when they arrive.
you're just really looking for geospatially relevant information for
the mission at hand. If you're going to take this route and you're not
familiar with this route that you're thinking of taking, you can look
and see how many attacks have taken place; what kind of attacks have
taken place; who's been there before. So all of that information is at
your fingertips.
What a different application than Cyclopath! (And one that I personally would have qualms about working on, although I don't see this as a simple case of 'working on a military application'.) And yet the motivation for the approach is nearly identical. More evidence for the utility of a geowiki approach!
TIGR is a huge leap forward
TIGR is a huge leap forward concerning the safety of our troops. As it ia a map based application the more junior level officers can study a proposed route before going on patrol, adding any additional information they find upon their return. To get a better idea of an area before they go there for real, they can see the locations of key buildings such as mosques, schools and hospitals as well as geotagged photos of buildings (taken using cameras with GPS). It is exactly the kind of information that modern technology should be providing soldiers so they can learn about Iraq and its perils.
Tactical Ground Reporting System
Very interesting information on military capabilities. Its kind of like star wars in real life. Thanks for sharing and we will be interested in checking back to see and read more about this topic.
Sounds like the army
Sounds like the army encounters (on a more dangerous scale) one of the very same problems that the corporate world does. Loss of institutional knowledge.
Immobilienmakler
Tiger
Well I think that one thing TIGR has done is that TIGR has made all of that information available to the soldiers that are coming in new, as it were, to an
area, so that they're acclimated and have good knowledge of the people and the places and the roads and things of this sort when they arrive
Great information on Military TIGR system
Thanks for the article, its very interesting and I had always wondered about military satellite systems and how they got the images for maps etc in a foreign country. We have several friends in the military and wish them luck and we apprecaite our chance to support our troops at
The Tactical Ground
The Tactical Ground Reporting System combines a database of information about the Iraq war and maps that allows junior officers to both study the terrain in light of past incidents, and share information about conditions on the ground. Troops were shown a prototype by DARPA in late 2006, and the current version was introduced in 2007.
I think that to build a
I think that to build a system like that must cost lots of money so it can by use for normal people, but I still waiting..
Cryingout for GeoWiki.
Certainly sounds like the military need being discussed is crying out for the GeoWiki approach. Powerful stuff that could save lives.
The US military is the best
The US military is the best when it comes to war technology and tactics, when they go to war its really like watching video games
Re: TIGR, the Tactical Ground Reporting System
I have actually discussed about this particular system in my earlier days of college! Admire it ;)
Fantastic
What a fantastic system. I can completely understand how hard it must have been for those troops to go in 'blind folded' as it were without any prior knowledge. This system should surely save lives and give the troops more confidence when entering new terriroty. Well done.
That's incredible. It's
That's incredible. It's difficult to predict how many lives are saved using technology such as this, but surely it has done just that, and also made the work of the soldiers that much easier and safer.
James
Webmaster - laptop reviews, fireplace design ideas.
insight
What a great insight into life in the warzones, it really makes you think about whats actually happening on the front line.
Interested technology being
Interested technology being used in the labs by the sound of it. Would be a really interested occupation.
Seems that this technology
Seems that this technology would change the way of warfare. It is also a good thing that our troops could benefit form this advancement in technology.
Gerry
Consultant - Inpatient Heroin Detox Program