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DARPA Combating Information Overload
Monday, September 9, 2002
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

"You can't shoot at somebody you think is a bad guy unless you can verify there are no neutrals or good guys in the weapons splash radius, so we're invoking the new sensor technology to do very precise target identification and make sure we don't make any mistakes." The technology would take an image, identify it as friend or foe and give that information to the service member. "We don't want people trying to make an identification from a screen. By the time they see it, the vehicle is already labeled with what it is."

ARLINGTON, Va. -- AFIS
In the civilian world, it's called "information overload."

That's when so much information is coming in that the receiver cannot separate the wheat from the chaff.

In the military, information overload can get you killed. That's why the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency set up the Information Exploitation Office.

"What we're all about is finding and killing bad guys on the battlefield," said office Director Dick Wishner. "We're focused on land and surface targets."

There is any amount of information a service member needs. The services collect data in a number of ways, from satellites to communications intercepts to human intelligence to remote sensors. Part of the rationale for setting up the office is the "military gets a lot of data but not enough information," Wishner said. "What we're trying to do is extract information out of this huge stream of data."

But even with all the information coming in, Wishner does not try to claim that everything is known. "I'm not trying to imply that all the data we need is available," he said. "We actually have a shortage of high-quality sensors." The office will work with offices inside DARPA and the services to develop new sensors.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

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