Google Earth
Anyone used Google Earth in conjunction with SIPR SIGACTS on a local computer to conduct pattern anaysis? Does anyone else see the utility in this?
I know that there is a system coming online which is similar to Google Earth for SIGACT tracking as I tested it for the Army in October. However, has anyone used existing technologies to do the same thing in the interim?
There is definite utility to be mined in the conduct of pattern analysis and geo-profiling with SIGACTS.Originally Posted by RTK
Google Earth is a good system, as far as it goes, and can be fun to work with. However, it is not really set up for true geographic analysis - you definitely need dedicated GIS software for that. Along with the commonly used (and pricey) ArcViewGIS etc. etc., there are also decent free software downloads that you can use.
Here's a good FREE DOWNLOAD package, intended for the LE community, but certainly of use for the type of analysis you mention:
Of course, effectively implementing any type of geographic analysis and integrating it seamlessly into overall ops requires a trained and experienced intel analyst who understands GEOINT in the context of the mission. Unfortunately, they're in short supply.Crime Analysis Unit Developer Kit
Developed by NLECTC-Rocky Mountain's Crime Mapping & Analysis Program (CMAP)
The Crime Analysis Unit Developer Kit includes a collection of documents, publications, examples, and tools has been researched, collected, and made publicly available by the Crime Mapping & Analysis Program (CMAP). The CAU Developer's Kit contains numerous free software applications, including:
* Two GIS programs - A complete, self-contained desktop Geographic Information Systems.
* Two Geographic Profiling utilities - Dragnet-K, the stand-alone original GP software from the University of Liverpool, and Ian Oldfield’s GP Spreadsheet for Excel.
* The Crime Analysis Spatial Extension - Tactical crime analysis tools for ArcGIS similar to the USGS Animal Movements Extension for ArcView.
* Two Link-charting programs - Network, organizational, flow, and linkage diagram design software utilities with analytical functions.
* Six Statistics programs - Complete and robust statistics as powerful as any expensive application.
* OpenOffice - A complete office program suite that includes a word processor, spreadsheet/grapher, relational database, presentation/slideshow, diagram tool, and mathematical modeling utility.
All software is provided free of charge by CMAP and the developers for use by the US law enforcement community.
In the second time in as many days, I find myself recommending another list-serve from the LE community. The CrimeMap List-Serve is invaluable for putting you in touch with the wider LE, academic and research community for this subject area. If you post your GEOINT RFIs to this list-serve, you will definitely receive a wealth of expert opinion in return. As with the ORIML list-serve I recommended in the other thread, this list-serve is not heavy on traffic, so you will not end up with your e-mail clogged with messages.
CRIMEMAP, the MAPS program listserv, serves as an information dissemination tool. CRIMEMAP was established by in order to get crime analysts, researchers, geographers, and other interested parties communicating about crime mapping technologies related to criminal justice applications. The listserv enables subscribers to post and respond to questions, and also serves as a vehicle for MAPS staff to announce upcoming conferences and new publications.
http://www.globalincidentmap.com/home.php
RTK I believe that has been done already, but I can't recall the name of the program. I'll take a look on WED and let you know. Not exactly an analytical tool, the link above is still a useful service. Let me know what you think, it is more than skin deep.
Bill
Funny thing is, I belive the creation of the site you linked to was driven by this one, out of Budapest, Hungary, which appeared online first:
RSOE Havaria Information Service - Alertmap
If you compare the two, they are not identical; although they do track many of the same incidents, there is unique content on each. However, as you stated, this type of program does not have the capability to function as an analytic tool, but it does provide a good visual of current incidents.
Where I work, an office near mine keeps both of these sites up all day long on two big flat-screens mounted on the wall. It doesn't really serve a useful purpose that way - but it looks cool.
How do better tools integrate into our cumbersome O&M system
I downloaded the CMAP stuff today and will dig through it at some point. I'm sure there are going to be plenty of gems in it, but the greatest problem I can foresee getting it loaded onto our silly NMCI machines.
Although each company HQ should have access to a deployable laptop, I begin to wonder if we have shot ourselves in the foot during the information war aspect of the current fight, by limiting ourselves to "approved" tools and AIS. I mean, I could see it right now. Motivated company commander goes to his S-6 and says that he wants the CMAP stuff loaded onto his laptop, but the S-6's hands are tied because these tools weren't on the approved list of software for the deployable seat. Despite their enabling capabilities, they could require a lengthy approval process which in turn prevents timely training and use, and thus said company commander finds himself stuck with a tool that is perhaps 5-6 years old and actually archaic.
That's an unfortunate reality of the cumbersome AIS blanket we wear with NMCI. Does anyone have any experience with streamlining this process through the appropriate waivers?
Hello all.
I am the owner/publisher of www.globalincidentmap.com - noted traffic to my site coming from here so I came to see what it was.
Thanks Bill, for linking to us.
While the public version of the site does not have much analytical use, we can create custom versions that do. We have been creating custom versions of the map for leo/gov/mil users that do different things. Whether a military joint op center just wants a version that displays nicely 'up on the wall', or someone wants a version that can create reports, its not too difficult to do.
We recently added a search feature that lets users create reports based on searching our database by date, location, incident type, or any combination.
On request from more than one military outfit we are currently building a system that doesnt rely on human hand-jabbed data, but instead goes out and scours the net for terrorism related news items automatically, using sets of rules.
The public version is limited, but the same system can be used, and is being used, by a growing number of law enforcement, government, and military organizations. And it can do alot more than what you see on the public version. While I garnered some inspiration from the RSOE Hungarian map, the maps are indeed very different in terms of content and functionality.
A good example of an expanded system would be something like this - every military intel analyst we have could have their own map for tracking their own incidents, and all of those maps could 'talk' to eachother displaying all of the aggregate data from all the individual analysts. Then you can add whatever reporting or analytical modules you need to evaluate the data as a whole.
One railway police user is taking it a step futher, such that the mapping system becomes more of an incident management system - allowing first responders to add comments to an incident indicating what they are seeing on the ground and what resources they need, and the ability to chat with their centers via the map system. They had us add a display of all the various types of rail cars with images so they could easily identify which rail cars might have hazmat threats from chemicals and such. They hope to get all of the railroads to use the system to share incident data amongst themselves. The system is really only limited by ones imagination.
The beauty of the system we have now is that its flexible, and cheap. It uses Googlemaps now but can work practically any GIS system that accepts lat/long coordinates. It certainly can be modified to output its data into whatever format your existing analytical tools require. Its cheap enough that I built it having no funding from anyone whatsoever. And apparently its useful, 27% of our web traffic comes from .mil domains, and 6% from .gov domains.
I would love to hear from you folks with your ideas and suggestions on how we can make it a better & more useful project, and would welcome any requests for custom versions that do different things. To date all of the custom versions we have built have been completed at no charge to the user.
If any of you are in the Arlington VA area I'll be up there this week and would be happy to discuss the system, have been invited to the Pentagon to discuss military use of the mapping system.
All the best,
Morgan Clements
Publisher GlobalIncidentMap.com / TerroristWarning.com /TransitSecurityReport.com
news@terroristwarning.com
Here's a version that they've put together for the Tenneessee Regional Information Center:
TRIC Incident Tracking Map
As an aside, but keeping to the topic, NASA's World Wind is available for free download.....The mapping system is open to the public at large for access and viewing based on its open source content. It is currently linked within the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) Tennessee and Law Enforcement portals. The map URL will soon be linked to the TN Bureau of Investigation website, the TN Dept. of Safety and TN Office of Homeland Security websites.
Two additional maps are being developed; a Sex Offender Registry map and a Violent Offender map. These maps will be used operationally to assist with the investigations of Amber Alerts and violent crimes in progress....
...and more.3D Engine: World Wind allows any user to zoom from satellite altitude into any place on Earth, leveraging high resolution LandSat imagery and SRTM elevation data to experience Earth in visually rich 3D, just as if they were really there....
Blue Marble: World Wind has a full copy of the Blue Marble, a spectacular true-color image of the entire Earth as seen on NASA's Earth Observatory: The Blue Marble....
Land Sat 7: Using World Wind, you can continue to zoom past Blue Marble and reveal the extremely detailed seamless mosaic of LandSat 7 data....
SRTM: Combining LandSat 7 imagery with Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Data, World Wind can display a dramatic view of the Earth at eye level. Users will literally be able to fly across the world in any direction....
NASA SVS: Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has produced a set of visually intense animations that demonstrate a variety of subjects such as hurricane dynamics and seasonal changes across the globe....
MODIS: Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS produces a set of time relevant data that's updated every day. MODIS catalogs fires, floods, dust, smoke, storms and even volcanic activity....
GLOBE: World Wind is capable of browsing through and displaying GLOBE data based on any time the user wants. For example, a user can download today's (or any previous day's) temperature across the world....
11 Apr 07 WSJ article on this site mentioned earlier in the thread:
RSOE Havaria Information Service - Alertmap
Real-Time Map Monitors Disasters Across the Globe
...A small team of emergency-preparedness professionals maintains the map around the clock while performing other responsibilities for their work with the NGO. "We are always trying to look for information that is confirmed, either by an authority or an official, competent organization," says Mr. Rafael. "We do not take information from blogs or other unconfirmed reports."
AlertMap is funded and staffed by the Hungarian National Association of Radio Distress-Signaling and Infocommunications, a nonprofit group where Mr. Rafael serves as deputy secretary-general. The group works with and receives funding from some of Hungary's government agencies and the European Union, for which it performs various emergency-related services.
Mr. Rafael's group, known by its Hungarian initials RSOE, provides emergency updates to the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to warn tourists of trouble spots abroad. His organization also has the obscure but vital responsibility of coordinating navigation on the Danube River and Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Europe....
Having used GE, Falconview, and C2PC, I would not use GE as a stand-alone SIGACTS platform. I haven't seen functionality like you have on Falconview, which is actually a pretty easy piece of gear to use and is almost a must these days for ops in an urban environment.
I use GE currently as a training tool, where I produce SIGACTS overhead views as a product given out with FTX opords (developing the enemy sit). It's met with acceptance because the training audience knows they'll have to work with near-real time imagery in the future.
I'm not sure a GEOINT guy is necessary for integration into current ops. It would be a nice thing, but we've pulled a lot of capability out without even tapping into heavy GIS. I hear what you're saying Jedburgh, just believe a lot of capability is already there.
It's pretty easy to tie this stuff into Kilcullen, but that's for another post (and likely lengthy).
JC, I didn't mean that we needed a lot of dedicated GEOINT specialists - any good intel soldier can do the job, if he possesses a decent familiarity with GEOINT.
On the other hand, referring to your last statement about capabilities, I'd have to agree wholeheartedly. Combat ops tend to separate the wheat from the chaff, and there are plenty of "trained" intel soldiers out there who don't really have a knack for the job - and plenty of soldiers in other fields that, when given the opportunity, truly shine.
An example of the former would be the NCOIC of the terrain team at CJTF-180 in Afghanistan a while back - when I requested tac terrain products for certain sites, he just kept repeating "I can get ya overhead imagery". When I explained that I wanted an analytic product, he looked at me like I had something growing out of my forehead.
An example of the latter would be the young FA CPT at a large FOB in Iraq who, with no prep or specialized training, was thrust into the FP officer position. He did an outstanding job of conducting a pattern analysis of friendly patrol activity and threat mortar attacks - complete with the most important part of all, a concise written report specifying the exact nature of the threat and a recommendation for a direct and simple solution. Unfortunately, the CPT's solution required a COL to change the way he did business, which didn't happen - and the rounds kept coming in, and a few more troops were wounded before outsiders with weight came in and made a recommendation which couldn't be refused...
Although I belive that both cases tend to be the exception (although not so rare) rather than the rule, it is those non-MI soldiers who are the latter exception that really provide us with a huge advantage at the company level - when their leaders are wise enough to discover and exploit their talents.
Last edited by Jedburgh; 01-02-2007 at 01:57 AM.
SigActs
There are already programs on line in Iraq for this purpose. A couple I'm aware of include Combined Information Data Network Exchange (CIDNE) and Marine-Link. FusionNet also provided this capability. I know MNF-W is also looking at NASA WorldWind.
Arc View is a phenomenal piece of software. It has incredible tools for analysis. The only real limitations are the price which should not be an issue because Uncle Suger should be providing this and the computer that runs it needs to have a) a fairly large hard drive b) a lot of ram and c) a good graphics card. Oh and you will definitely need some training on it. It is not something you figure out by trial and error.
SFC W
Our S2 shop has a variety of different machines to choose from- ASAS-L, CIDNE, JIOC, Falconview and ArcGis. We are supposed to be getting a new one next week, CPOF. The problem with these machines is that they all utilize SIPR, and as soon as you discover that it doesn't have the map datum for the area that you need, a contractor has to be called etc etc. Our S6 can't fix it because of the classification. Frustrating.
A 96B who had some emphasis on GEOINT training would be incredibly useful, but I don't see that happening unless I figure out a way to teach them.
FYI:
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) is now accepting applications for its 2007 USGIF Scholarship Program. USGIF will award more than $50,000 in scholarships this year. The deadline is 01 June 07.
All graduate and undergraduate students studying fields relating to the geospatial intelligence tradecraft are encouraged to apply.
Applications can be found on the Foundation's website at www.usgif.org/Education_Scholarships.aspx.
USGIF is also awarding scholarships to well-qualified high school seniors planning to enter a geospatial intelligence or GIS-related program at the college or university level.
Questions can be directed to scholarships@usgif.org.
Last edited by Jedburgh; 02-17-2007 at 05:43 PM.
In conjunction with SIPR SIGACTS, why not use BFT/FBCB2 data? All reported SIGACTS are displayed on the real-time BFT/FBCB2 map/overlay.
Because BFT doesn't always have clear 1M CIB.
Example is better than precept.
...Translate that for the rest of us, please? <blinks>
CIB = Controlled Image Base (essentially, aerial/satellite photography, stored digitally)
1M = CIB sampled at 1 metre ground sample distance.
...I think *lol*
Ok. I didn't mean to give the impression of BFT/FBCB2 SIGACTS being the "sole source" in the pattern analysis, but rather that BFT/FBCB2 SIGACTS data be included as part of an "all source" collated pattern analysis effort.
Just an idea.
Historical perspective
As a tool Google Earth provides varying possibilities which have been used , I think however that the eventual movement will be more towards integration and development of tie-in apps for World Wind being that it can be used standalone or online ad is open source.
It would allow many of the possibilities sought here.
just my 1 1/2 ...
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