Information Gathering, Decision Making and Command

Coping with military operations or even critical situations in a civilian environment depends crucially on real-time situational awareness and effective cooperation. To achieve both goals, it is necessary to tap difficult-to-access or hidden data and information, integrate it into pictures that support decision making, and make it available for command tasks in complex environments.

Nearly every scientific department of the Fraunhofer FKIE is concerned with various aspects of these problem sets. They support the development of assistance systems to control safety or operational processes. The extraction, transmission and fusion of disparate raw data forms the substrate from which situation pictures are created. In information acquisition, a diverse range of data sources are tapped using sensors and other means. Fusion tames the resulting fragmentary data and adapts it to a format using specially tailored algorithms. In many cases, the subsequent analysis, pre-processing and logical linking is automated using intelligent algorithms, such as deep learning methods.

In addition to reliable information, effective situation management also requires the ability for central coordinating elements to interact with decentralized forces executing the mission. Two-way command and control assistance systems support this aim. The aspect of security is also key in data transmission and storage. The Fraunhofer FKIE offers support in the design and implementation of suitable solutions and develops them into operational prototypes.