User:Hoventur/Lighthouse Technology

Overview: Lighthouse is the integration of commercial-off-the-shelf and open-source technology and analytic methodologies developed in the Common Operational Research Environment to help solve complex problems. Lighthouse uses commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and software to support the research for information collection and advanced analytic methodologies. Lighthouse is an offshoot of the original Field Information Support Tool (FIST) that was designed to collect socio-cultural data in the field and structure it for geospatial, temporal, or social network analysis. Unlike FIST, a transitioned commercial software program, Lighthouse is a project that continues to research, refine, and provide solutions for challenging problems associated with information flows in austere environments. While still related to the original FIST concept, Lighthouse has evolved to include a wide spectrum of research areas that include mobile data collection, information overload, social networking and network analysis, database and data warehousing, knowledge transfer, knowledge management, and human computer interaction among others. Lighthouse is an ongoing research project in the Common Operational Research Environment (CORE) lab at the Naval Postgraduate School and is managed by Captain Carrick Longley, US Marine Corps, a PhD student in the Information Sciences department.

Technology: Lighthouse uses a powerful data collection and information aggregation platform that harnesses the power of the iOS and Android platforms to provide content rich data collection in the field. Additionally, the web based data portal is capable of providing a number of different data views and data feeds allowing information to be filtered, discovered, and understood as well as allowing for integration with powerful analytic applications and services. The technology that powers Lighthouse enables a wide range of powerful, yet easy to operate capabilities.

CORE Lab and Analytic Methodologies: Quickly map reports using Google Maps without leaving the interface. The CORE Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School has a threefold mission to support field operatives engaged in irregular warfare. It develops operators' knowledge, skills, and abilities in visual analytics. Three visual analytic methodologies are emphasized in the courses and research projects: geospatial analysis, temporal analysis, and relational analysis. The application of these methodologies, and the analytical software tools associated with them, enables operators to collect, manage, and fuse data in order to create a more complete picture of the irregular warfare battle space. Based on a more nuanced understanding of the environment, operators develop a range of Irregular Warfare intervention strategies. Alternative Counter-Insurgency (COIN) strategies include: Direct Action approaches (e.g. counter-terrorism campaigns, and man-hunting missions); Indirect Action Strategies (e.g. IO and PSYOPS campaigns); Security Force Assistance and Conflict-Resolution/Post-Conflict Reconstruction Strategies (e.g. Interagency coordinated Civil Affairs programs). Additionally, through an exploration of data integration techniques and an examination of alternative strategies for action, the CORE Lab serves as the center of gravity for teaching and research on military operations and intelligence fusion cells at the operational level. The human capital it develops informs and enhances fusion cell operations and effectiveness.

Conclusion: Lighthouse is the combination of technology and analytic methodologies to help understand the complex socio-cultural environment in which users operate. The forms deployed to collectors are specific to their operations and use cases and are informed by complex models derived from the social sciences. The end result is to provide a structured manner in which data is gathered and provide sufficient input to validate various analytic methods and models to provide the decision maker a more comprehensive understanding of the environment.