Twitter, Facebook and Ten Red Balloons: Social Network Problem Solving and Homeland Security
The winner of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) Essay Contest in 2010, this essay looks at how homeland security could benefit from crowd-sourced applications accessed through social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook. Christopher M. Ford looks at the apparent efficacy of two such endeavors: the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) competition to find ten 8-foot balloons moored across the continental U.S. and Wired Magazine challenge to “find” author Evan Ratliff. Based on these and other crowd-sourced applications, Ford suggests that the U.S. government could utilize the internet and social networking sites to potentially solve an array of discrete problems through the active participation of interested citizens.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Agent Markup Language Computer Aided Knowledge Acquisition
Abstract : Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC) supported DARPA Agent Markup Language (DAML) research by investigating potential military applications for Semantic Web technology. DRC developed a variety of ontologies to demonstrate the application of DAML technology and to identify challenges to military-specific applications. DRC's experience with ontology development and maintenance led to the development of ontology configuration management and versioning processes. Initial research under this contract has influenced the adoption of DAML by the Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) Integrated Flight Management Advanced Technology Demonstration (IFM/ATD) Foreign Clearance Guide effort and the Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Advanced Concepts Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program. DAML technology continues to evolve and promises to provide benefits for military applications.
Semantic Web: Implications for Modeling and Simulation System Interoperability
One of the newest initiatives in the evolution of the World Wide Web (WWW) is the specification of standards and technologies to create the Semantic Web. Whereas most of today’s WWW is targeted primarily at human readers, the Semantic Web will support human readers while providing enriched data descriptions to enable software agents to perform automated reasoning, creating a Web of knowledge. In the Modeling and Simulation (M&S) domain, these emerging technologies offer opportunities to dramatically improve composability of functional capabilities and interoperability of systems, including interoperability between M&S and operational C4I systems. In parallel with ongoing WWW developments, the M&S community in recent years has initiated efforts to determine how the enormous investment in Internet and Web technologies can be exploited for military M&S purposes. The Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework (XMSF) project is providing the technical basis for transformational interoperability via Extensible Markup Language (XML) data and messaging interchange, profiles, and recommended practices for Web-based M&S. Broad technical interoperability is enabled by open standards, XML-based markup languages, Internet technologies, and cross-platform Web services supporting diverse distributed modeling and simulation applications. A Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) XMSF Profiles Study Group is actively defining formal technical specifications for application of interoperable Web-based technologies enabling composable and reusable M&S elements, and facilitating enterprise integration. Profiles are expected to consist of applicable Web technologies and protocol standards, applicable data and metadata standards, standard and reusable ontologies, and recommendations and guidelines for implementation. This paper provides an introduction to primary aspects of the Semantic Web and discusses application of emerging Semantic Web concepts, tools, and standards to current and future M&S initiatives, including efforts of the SISO XMSF Profiles Study Group.