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DARPA's Map-Based Wiki Keeps Platoons Alive
blackbearnh writes "One of the biggest problem that a platoon on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan faces is that when a new unit cycles in, all the street-sense and experience of the old unit is lost. Knowing where insurgents like to plant IEDs, or even which families have a lot of domestic disputes, can spell the difference between living and dying. In response to this, DARPA created TIGR, the Tactical Ground Reporting System. 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. In this O'Reilly Radar interview, two of the people responsible for the development of TIGR talk about the intel issues that troops face in hostile territory, the challenges of deploying new technology meant for combat areas, the specific tricks that they had to employ to make TIGR work over less-than-robust military networking, and how TIGR is impacting platoons in their day to day operations"
Of course this assume the enemy hackers are not as good as your hackers to protect the content and maps. Or it might be used against them.
So they just ported Wikimapia?
Or... dare say, they're using Wikimapia itself?!
Is this only happening with me? And I swear I am not using IE!
It's Google Maps for jarheads.
This is great for a couple of reasons. First it gives troops on the ground better intel on what to watch for and where, doing a job of keeping them alive. But it also looks like it can help troops get a better understanding of the area. What are your poor areas prone to violence. Long gone are the days when you can shoot first and ask questions later. This sort of intel is a valuable step to understanding the people over there and maybe even working with them rather than working against them. I'm sure the vast majority of Iraqi's just want an end to the violence, and are willing to work with whomever will help them get the status quo back.
The musings of just another geek and his junk.
TIGR = Tactical Ground Reporting System?
So... where did the I come from, and where did the S go? Surely it wouldn't have been hard to actually put something in for the I - Tactical Interactive Ground Reporting would have worked well, I think.
The wonderful thing about TIGR, is TIGR's a wonderful thing.
It doesn't have any trouble using Milit'ry networking.
It's good for intel in the field, and fun fun fun fun fun!
So boot up that there TIGR, while I go get my gun.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
As a soldier currently in Baghdad and having gone through about 10 RIPs (Relief in Place) in my 13 months here this would be a great benefit. The usual RIP lasts about a week involving the leaving unit showing the new unit's leadership the main areas for a couple days. After those couple of days the new unit takes over and only a select few from the old unit accompanies them. Completely all knowledge from the old unit is lost except that which is important enough to be on the company/battalion level. My platoon alone has taken over roughly 15 AOs (Areas of Operations), just to turn them over a couple weeks later to another unit. To have a tool that shows all the historical data on a platoon (or even squad) level would greatly benefit the incoming units and the local populace. The current system just isn't good enough. It's the equivalent of getting a quick walk through of a house and then trying to determine what parts are in need of fixing.
I totally need something like this for my GPS-enabled cell phone for a real world Hichhiker's Guide. :)
.: Max Romantschuk
Hint: They use machetes.
Sounds like a great and useful tool for oppressed people to fight back against occupying armies, be they domestic or foreign. Wonder how practical it would be to make em and just give em away to people for free...
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
TIGR! TIGR! burning bright
In the desert city night,
With intel at hand and eye
Our foe will surely fear to try!
You are assuming the network over which it is served in the field is not completely localized. Or that somehow it never occurred to them that the Taliban might have hackers.
You are arm-chair IT managing.
Help fight poverty: Punch a poor person.
didn't know anti-war position equals flamebait...
Would you like to know why you failed?
The option you so cleverly described is still favorable to being butchered with a machete.
I expect you to slit your wrists as an act of contrition.
didn't know anti-war position equals flamebait...
It does when your two statements are factually false. Do you really think Sunni vs Shia violence will magically stop when all foreign military is out of Iraq? Fat chance. Likely, it will escalate.
As far as 'no need for such tools'...it is an information sharing and continuity system. Useful in all sorts of (military) ways. For instance, a peacekeeping force in Africa somewhere. Or UN peacekeepers in Timor or Georgia.
I'm a military commander and I often find that my troops are invading the wrong houses, bombing schools, et cetera. I've heard that in technical support organizations they use "knowledge base" software to keep track of the solutions to common problems. I have just two questions. 1) Which knowledge base packages meet military security requirements? 2) Will I be able to prevent soldiers from entering "put a bullet in it" as the solution to every problem?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
just don't tell me about "all good things" war brings to people..
I'm guessing it was more a commentary on illogic than on your feelings about war...
Troops not being "there" years ago did not mean that there was no dying. I can think of numerous uses for such tools (disaster relief, sales, census-taking, etc). Lastly, entropy always increases.
I'm just sayin'...
"Murphy was an optimist" - O'Toole's commentary on Murphy's Law
No one forces a woman to take BC, get a job, or fuck a boss. (At least not in the good ol' U S of A, which I assume you are alluding to. Don't equate your mom's experiences to those of all American women.) If they did, it would probably be illegal. In Afghanistan the government DOES force terrible things on its female citizens.
I wish that there was a "-1: Straw-man" moderation...
No one has said (that I have seen) that this is a silver bullet to allow us to win. Beyond that, unless your definition of what it means to win (in Iraq) is vastly different from mine, winning would mean the end of military operations there, which I expect (based on the pair of comments you made about weapons) you would approve of.
That aside, This is a tool, not a strategy. This tool provides historical information to people (soldiers) who would make *worse* decisions (life-or-death decisions affecting Iraqi civilians as well as soldiers) without it.
Whether it's time to leave or not, how is this system a bad thing for the situation in Iraq?
"Murphy was an optimist" - O'Toole's commentary on Murphy's Law
Yes, it's apparently a wiki ("a collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone with access to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language").
No, it's apparently not a Wiki ("a type of collaborative software that runs a Wiki system"). From TFA:
TIGR is somewhat like Google Maps and Wiki, but the backend of TIGR was very, very carefully designed so that it would work over military networks in these tactical environments where, as you can imagine, the network is very fragile and the bandwidth is sparse.
Is it just me, or does Wikipedia have a pretty circular definition of what is not a wiki?
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
Or they could just setup troop rotations so only 1/4 of them leave/join at a time, thus preserving the "tribal" knowledge on the ground.
But I guess that would not justify a large budgetary expenditure, so they won't do it.
Long before worrying about that I'd be worrying about whether many guys will actually get to use this stuff. The things you read about in Popular Science and hear about on tech news sites don't reach every guy on the ground. Every time I ask my friends on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan about stuff like this they just laugh themselves silly.
You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
Indeed, it'll most likely aid immesurably for the residents of the next country we all go and liberate.
Joking aside, While I never agreed with going to war, I do agree that we should clean up what we've done, and this does go some way to ensure that can happen consistently and easilly.
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
No, what that does is ruin the cohesion between platoon members. You don't want to constantly change who servicemembers are serving with, making it harder to maintain morale when their buddy gets rotated out. That's my two cents at least.
All joking aside, TIGR Net is not something that will work well if we were to deploy, let's just say, to Angola tomorrow. TIGR is very fast and responsive in remote Iraqi FOBs because of its dispersed servers. Each machine is only pulling from the closest server, which updates itself during downtimes. There are other tools that do similar things to TIGR, but are slower in these remote locations because they pull from servers farther away and through constricted networks.
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
I see what you tried to do there... Would you like to know why you failed? The option you so cleverly described is still favorable to being butchered with a machete. I expect you to slit your wrists as an act of contrition.
So, your justice system doesn't execute people who violate the laws of the land?
Is your problem is that they execute whores, rather than giving them a talk show where they can be a role model?
Is it that their community takes responsibility for justice in a personal way while you pay someone to bloody their hands on your behalf like a coward and pretend it makes you better than other people?
Oh, and they use rocks, not machetes. Everyone has to throw them with their own two hands, so they will learn that justice is serious and ugly business and not to be taken lightly or treated as some sort of money making game.
I expect you to keep acting like an idiot until the fateful day that you're the one buried up to your neck in the dirt, and never experience a moment of contrition.
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
Wow, yet another fast tracked technology that just adds to our footprint. We have so many different types of systems: tons of mapping software, command and control software, sharepoint, COPOF(command post of the future), IRC, share drives... The list goes on and on.
The fact is while i haven't seen this particular piece of software yet i already see it now. It is going to come in its own green 'field expedient' case. It will be one more thing to take up the little bandwidth we have on our network.
Obviously someone thought there was a need for such an application but i have to disagree. We keep everything documented (currently in Afghanistan), pictures, Intel Reports, grid locations for IED blasts etc. A wiki really isn't going to organize this information any better than anything we are using now.
Major setbacks to Military Communications Systems & Applications:
They do not integrate with previous systems. The Military (Marine Corps specifically) does not let go of old systems. Obviously you combine the two of these and you have a problem. I really wish there was some sort of interoperability clause in all government software contracts. Since we have a hard time utilizing open source we should get a robust API at the very least! I dunno, i could go on for days about this. I just think this TIGR system is going to be unnecessary.
Semper Fi
two of the people responsible for the development of TIGR talk about the intel issues that troops face in hostile territory
Have they tried using AMD instead?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
so a woman who shows a sliver of skin is a whore?
i sincerely hope that you die in a fire
just don't tell me about "all good things" war brings to people..
You're right - we should have just let Hitler have all of Europe and Tojo all of Asia.
What are you - french?
I don't WANT you using open source. I want your job to be so difficult that the government gives up and BRINGS YOU HOME.
I do not want the government using MY open source projects to kill innocent people.
The more IT problems you have, the better.
Put a TIGR in your tank!
Have gnu, will travel.
I do agree that we should clean up what we've done
Good. Since the UK screwed everything up to begin with, it's clear that any "cleaning up" should be done by them. (Of course you can cast responsibility for the Middle East even further back in time. The lesson being that while meddling with people is unethical, ultimately they are responsible for their own lives. Trying to clean someone up after you've raped them is creepy)
There is no "silver bullet" that will allow us to win.
Uh...ever heard of Fat Man and Little Boy? I know it's a very different war (which is why nukes are not the "silver bullet" for this war) but that's not to say that there can't be one. And besides, I didn't see anyone claiming that this tool would win the war, just help to reduce casualties and increase the effectiveness (by increasing the environmental awareness) of the troops on the ground.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Joking aside, While I never agreed with going to war, I do agree that we should clean up what we've done,
Me, too. So let's find a way to fix all this carbon :P
More seriously, how many major military conflicts in the world today has the USA not exacerbated somehow?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
so a woman who shows a sliver of skin is a whore?
i sincerely hope that you die in a fire
If all the other women in the village think the woman is a whore and put their money where their mouth is by actually throwing rocks at her, who am I to tell them they're wrong? I don't live there, I just read propaganda written by parasites...
Do you not believe in peoples right to govern themselves?
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
I'm an Army LT currently deployed. I've seen this in action and have a good idea what it's capable of. The best analogy is that it's basically a customized version of Google Maps with the following:
- access to newer imagery
- customized route & search tools
- user submitted reporting
- automatically imports historical reports
There are no special pelican cases and 5 year old rubberized hardware. It won't tie in to your BFT in your vehicle (at least not for years and years to come). You simply fire up your SIPR computer (the classified computer on a closed network - for those who don't know) and go to a specific web address and log in.
It's not a tool for the guy on the ground. SGT Snuffy isn't going to stop his fire team on patrol and consult TIGR. However, his LT may use it to plan routes and get a sense for historical activity before writing the operations order.
Without going into great depth discussing the limitations and capabilities of a tool being used to plan and conduct current operations, there are a few points that have been brought up in discussion I'd like to address:
1) The comment about "customized for military networks," simply means that they've made it a distributed system - you login to the TIGR server closest to you which reduces latency. The SIPR network uses encrypted satellite and various line-of-sight hardware to communicate - and bandwidth is at a premium.
2) The "Wiki" comparisons are... weak. The majority of TIGR's utility comes because it automatically imports from the master database of event reports. Users can create their own reports but these are typically too inconsistent to be useful. The reports that work their way through the standard reporting system are slower, but create a much more consistent and useful data set.
3) It's still got a ways to go. The UI is clunky, the search tools are really cool, but making operation graphics leaves something to be desired. The imagery is no better or worse than the imagery set available on the version of Google Earth we've got running over here. In fact - I prefer to use Google Earth plus a homebrew data import process (excel plus some macros to generate the kml files) rather than TIGR. But this tool is a HUGE step in the right direction. I'm sure down the road - all soldiers and marines will have ipod like devices mounted on their forearm with real-time location updates and historical activity represented as well as locations of other friendly units. TIGR is a baby step in the right direction.
And yes - none of us can figure out where the hell the "I" comes from. My guess is that "TGR" was being pronounced as "Tigger" which brings to mind children's books, not bad-ass soldiers. So they came up with a way to fix that at the expense of a nonsensical acronym.
You're right - we should have just let Hitler have all of Europe and Tojo all of Asia.
Tojo and Hitler started the wars. The Allies just finished them.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
so a woman who shows a sliver of skin is a whore?
i sincerely hope that you die in a fire
If all the other women in the village think the woman is a whore and put their money where their mouth is by actually throwing rocks at her, who am I to tell them they're wrong? I don't live there, I just read propaganda written by parasites...
Do you not believe in peoples right to govern themselves?
Moral relativism, just as repungnant today as it was when it was first born. Certain things are simply wrong, regardless of cultural context. Murdering people for showing the wrong bit of skin or daring to walk around in public without a male family member is wrong, period. The fact that you can't see this means you're either lying to troll or you're a psychopath and should probably be put down like a rabid animal before you have a chance to hurt anyone again.
The world you experience is only a close approximation of reality.
The current version of TIGR would work fine anywhere there was a static deployment. Having said that, TIGR is only as useful as the data it has captured, so what happens is the utility grows with time. New place, limited data = limited utility... although the imagery has been a consistent hit.