In future warfare, more and more sensor and intelligence (intel) information systems will be networked and thus information shared, potentially enhancing military situation awareness and mission efficacy. The challenge is to coordinate the information flows such that military actors get the right information (no more and noless) at the right time.

The CARDINAL project aims to design and develop an information coordination system that will provide realtime tactical support to military troops on the ground while performing their tasks in urban environments. We call this information coordination system the CARDINAL system which is a workstation that can be implemented as e.g. a computer terminal or a laptop, depending on operational needs. The Human Factors engineered CARDINAL system will make use of a Network Enabled Capability environment (NEC), and will incorporate artificial intelligence techniques for perception and decision support. The operational objective is to improve effectiveness of military performance at group/platoon level due to informational superiority that is based on realtime intel updates and sensor image availability, tuned to mission objectives.

The project will first make an operational analysis of information needs and requirements in view of expected available NEC functionalities like acoustic devices or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery for the detection of e.g. snipers, hit-and-run ambushes or hostile crowds. Then artificial intelligence techniques and human factors engineering will be applied to design and develop a man-machine collaborating information coordination system (CARDINAL system). Finally, the CARDINAL system will be coupled to a virtual environment in which military scenarios can be performed for assessing the operational benefits of the CARDINAL system.

contact: Michel Varkevisser