Enabling Net-centric Information Sharing

Multinational Command and Control Semantic Interoperability

Mr. Erik ChaumDMSO Assistant Director

Simulation-to-C2 / Science and Technology--------------------------------------------

Supporting

OSD (AT&L) Advanced Systems and Concepts

W3C Web Service Concept

Definition: A Web service is a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. It has an interface described in a machine-processable format (specifically WSDL). Other systems interact with the Web service in a manner prescribed by its description using SOAP messages, typically conveyed using HTTP with an XML serialization in conjunction with other Web-related standards.Ref: http://www.w3.org/TR/ws-arch/

Semantics (Sem) - what the bits meanProtocols (WSD) - how we move the bits

Net-centric Information Sharing FoundationsNet-centric Information Sharing Foundations

Semantic ChallengeClassification Uncertainty

example:

• System A: Probability-based declaration

• System B: Single type declaration

When A sends to B:

• Information lost (content, precision, context, metadata)

• Uncertainty created

• Manual interpretation required

True for COIs that overlap!

• Mediation or XML don’t solve this problem.

• Harmonized COI standards solve this problem!

CO1 1CO1 1CO1 1CO1 1

CO1 2CO1 2CO1 2CO1 2

Net-centric Information Sharing FoundationsNet-centric Information Sharing Foundations

Command and Control Integrates

• Mission & Functional COIs all Overlap in the C2 dimension

• C2 must provide the broad and integrating capability - no COI Stovepipes LogisticsLogisticsLogisticsLogistics

Modeling Modeling & Simulation& SimulationModeling Modeling & Simulation& Simulation

LittoralLittoralOperationsOperationsLittoralLittoral

OperationsOperationsEffectsEffectsEffectsEffects

StrikeStrikeStrikeStrikeTSTTSTTSTTST

Command Command & Control& ControlCommand Command & Control& Control

Net-centric Information Sharing FoundationsNet-centric Information Sharing Foundations

Communities: Complexity Reduction

• Community standards are essential to unambiguous information sharing and processes with reduced complexity and improved quality

• The lack of standards (i.e., LDM) adds complexity:

• Increased Costs

•Implementing similar battlespace representations designs

•Unique interfaces, integration, synchronization• Reduced capability - limited interoperability

•Loss of meaning, Loss of precision, Loss of context•Limitations on automated processing (increased complexity required to achieve automated processing)

•Longer time to capability• Manual processing

•People need to manually interpret the data

Net-centric Information Sharing FoundationsNet-centric Information Sharing Foundations

MIP & NATO: JC3IEDM• Mutilateral Interoperability

Programme

• Operational Objective: Enable Common Understanding of the Battlespace

• Technical Objective: “Information Interoperability”

• Information across national and language boundaries.

• From tactical to operational and strategic levels.

• Interaction with NGO

• Joint Consultation, Command and Control Information Exchange Data Model (JC3IEDM)

• Full documentation at: www.MIP-site.org

VERTICAL-DISTANCE

REFERENCE

GROUP-CHARACTERISTIC

COORDINATE-SYSTEM

AFFILIATION

ADDRESS

ACTION

CONTEXT

OBJECT-ITEM

OBJECT-TYPE

LOCATION

REPORTING-DATA

RULE-OF-ENGAGEMENT

CAPABILITY

CANDIDATE-TARGET-LIST

Multinational C2Community of Interest

Multinational C2Community of Interest

This tactical display shows very little data, only 17 friendly units for example. The display has sufficient detail for the viewer to understand the situation and with few distracting features.This tactical display shows very little data, only 17 friendly units for example. The display has sufficient detail for the viewer to understand the situation and with few distracting features.

Joint AORJoint AOR

Enterprise Standards• Enterprises are composed of many communities. Communities

contain many systems. Capability is realized through process enabled by integrated systems.

• Community information exchange standards should be system, Service, agency, and country independent logical data models [LDM] to support Joint, Inter-agency and multinational operations.

• Community role: Define and manage community business models (includes LDM that community information exchange standards)!

• Industry role: Implement capability based on community concepts and LDMs in specific systems and services.

• C2 community data standards/LDM provide a foundation for integrated Joint, Inter-agency and multinational capability.

Net-centric Information Sharing FoundationsNet-centric Information Sharing Foundations

Leveraging JC3IEDM• MIP Nations in various national systems

• NATO Force Goal / Systems

• STANAG 5525

• US Activities:

• US Army - Battle Command, Simulation, FCS

• US Marine Corps - Common Information Model

• US Navy - FORCEnet experimentation

• DISA - C2 Core Services

• COIs/Program leveraging MIP products

• JCS - Global Force Management (authoritative Force Mgmt Data)

• CBRN (NATO)

• Modeling and Simulation

•CBML: NATO MSG-48, SISO PDG, GeoBML

• ACTDs

•COSMOS, CMA, ASAP, JRCE

Multinational / Joint Command and ControlMultinational / Joint Command and Control

JC3IEDM as Knowledge Base

• IDA [Loaiza, Wartik 2005] created a C2 ontology prototype based on the MIP IEDM to explore its use in automated decision support. •Each class in the MIP IEDM maps to a class in the

ontology (though not vice versa). •Each organic attribute and relationship in the MIP IEDM

maps to a slot in a GH ontology class. •The IDA MIP ontology was implemented using a frame-

based ontology. •Other prototyping efforts to develop description-logic based

ontology methods have been undertaken

Issues & Challenges•Semantic impedance mismatches: the costs and limitations associated with semantic translation are not well understood

• Mediation / Adaptors have severe limitations!

•Avoid mediation when able•Functional communities overlap in the C2 area

•C2 forms a foundation for functional semantics

•Need to make semantic discord evident to motivate coherence efforts and provide understanding of limits.