DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
information in new ways and provide new capabilities, like automatically extracting buildings and roads from images or deter- mining the density of trees within a forest.
“We’re trying to take advantage of all of the progress being made in other disci- plines such as computer science and using that to solve some of the geospatial prob- lems we are facing today,” Wayant said.
GANG’S ALL HERE
Developers from ERDC’s Enhanced Terrain Processing effort demonstrate two of their newly developed tools to Sgt.1st Class Jung Hong from the Army Geospatial Center’s Military Support Team. With Hong are, from left, Kristofer Lasko, Ph.D.; Brendan Hoover, Ph.D.; Daniel O'Neill; Sarah Becker, Ph.D., and Andrew Griffin. (Photo by ERDC)
“One of the things I think that makes Enhanced Terrain Processing so success- ful is the diversity we have in terms of skill sets,” Wayant said. “We have geographers, we have computer scientists, we have phys- icists. We have foresters. So we are able to combine all of the knowledge and science behind all of the disciplines together to create these products.”
lot of caveats. Or it does take them several days to walk through the process to create all of these products. Now the geospatial engineers can do them so much quicker, and they can trust them more.”
Tis matters because when a unit begins its maneuver, it doesn’t want to send a tank to an area that has been recently overgrown with trees or a Humvee to a spot where a rainstorm saturated the soil enough that it will not currently support the vehi- cle’s weight.
“Being able to have more up-to-date information means it is more likely for a mission to be completed,” Wayant said. “It allows us to plan a mission faster and more accurately, making sure it is able to be completed, but also making sure we can bring Soldiers home safely.”
CONCLUSION Many of these tools will be formally tested during the maneuver, support, sustainment, and protection integration experiments capability demonstration in May at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Tey should be available to Army geospa- tial engineers by fiscal year 2024 or 2025.
ERDC’s Enhanced Terrain Process- ing team works in close collaboration with the Army Geospatial Center’s Mili- tary Support Team, which is made up of geospatial engineers who have field expe- rience. Tis allows the ERDC team to thoroughly vet the tools it is developing and ensure they are meeting Soldier needs and expectations.
And the effort continues to evolve, using advances in machine learning to combine
https://asc.ar my.mil 41
For more information and to learn more about ERDC’s Enhanced Terrain Process- ing tools, listen to an interview with Nikki Wayant on the “Power of ERDC Podcast” at
https://poweroferdcpodcast.org/ enhanced-terrain-processing/, or search for “Power of ERDC” in all major podcast players. You can send information requests to
ERDCinfo@usace.army.mil.
CHRIS KIEFFER is a communications specialist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. He spent more
than a decade as a reporter
and editor with the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and Oxford (Mississippi) Eagle newspapers. Kieffer holds an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and a B.A. in journalism from the University of Mississippi.
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