Jack TombrellaNorthrop Grumman Corporation

Rocket City Geospatial ConferenceNovember 18-20, 2008

Real-time Collaborative Planning

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Real-Time Collaborative Planning

• Collaborative planning is the real-time interaction of commanders and staffs at two or more echelons developing plans for a single operation.

• Collaborative planning systems– Defense Collaboration Tool Suite (DCTS)– InfoWorkspace– Net-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) Collaboration Services

• Traditional features– Audio conferencing—Voice over IP– Video conferencing over IP network– Text messaging– Application sharing – Session management– Whiteboard

Challenge: Create interoperability between disparate planning systems to enable RCP

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Vignette 1: RCP Today—Manual Whiteboard

• Two different planning systems– Different map displays– Different processes or user

interfaces to enter an obstacle or detour

– Different algorithms for route calculation

– Different representations of the data

• Collaboration– Step 1: Activate whiteboard– Step 2: Add detour to whiteboard– Step 3: GPS #1 manually inserts

obstacle– Step 4: GPS #2 manually inserts

obstacle– Step 5: Both are ready to go

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Vignette 2: RCP Interim—Loose Coupling

• Two different planning systems– Different map displays– Different processes or user

interfaces to enter an obstacle or detour

– Different algorithms for route calculation

– Common representations of the data

• Collaboration– Step 1: Activate whiteboard– Step 2: Add detour to whiteboard– Step 3: Export obstacle into each

system– Step 4: Both are ready to go

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Vignette 3: RCP Objective—Open Architecture

• Two different planning systems– Different map displays– Different processes or user

interfaces to enter an obstacle or detour

– Different algorithms for route calculation

– Common representations of the data

– Open interfaces– Open architecture

• Collaboration– Step 1: No whiteboard—use native

maps– Step 2: Add detour to map– Step 3: Obstacle automatically inserted

into each system– Step 4: Both are ready to go

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Northrop Grumman Initiatives

• Participation in DoD Community of Interest for Net-Centric Data Sharing– Common IAMD XML Schema (CIXS)

• Open source– GlassFish– Java SDK– PostgresSQL– World Wind

• Standardized whiteboard tools– Military symbols 2525– Tactical graphics– 2D, 3D mapping capabilities

• Data compression facilitate XML transmission– Secure wireless

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Goal: Enhanced Operational Capabilities

• Not just a whiteboard—Incorporate the results of a collaboration session directly into each disparate planning system’s database.

• Enable more responsive and effective crisis planning due to shared view of strengths/weaknesses and intelligence data

• Provide mission rehearsal from distributed locations.• Extend participation in planning and situational awareness to

any system on the network.

Bringing Decision Makers Closer to Data Gatherers

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