NewVectors Projects

Multi-Agent Representation of the Operational Environment (MAROP)

In June of 2004, NewVectors' parent company, Altaurm, began executing a new one-year project called “Multi-Agent Representation of the Operational Environment” (MAROP).The project is part of the Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence, Security and Reconnaisance (C4ISR) Focused Area Collaborative Teams (FACT) research agenda. Our sponsor is Tom Cioppa at TRADOC Analysis Command - Monterey (TRAC Monterey) in Monterey, CA.

Military operations unfold within the constraints of a particular physical environment. Operational effectiveness is a product of the joint “system” of the military operations and their environment. These emergent dynamics often vary widely as the state of the environment varies, to the point where the dynamics, and thus the outcome of particular military operations, may be completely dominated by the environment in which they are embedded. An example of such environmental constraints is the presence of civilians in a combat zone. The operation of the military forces shapes the distribution and state of the civilian population, but there is feedback too, as civilians may impede on the progress of an operation or provide cover for enemy fighters.

In the MAROP project, our team is developing an agent implementation framework linked to a Graphic Information System in which the behavior of noncombatants in an ongoing military operation can be modeled, simulated, and analyzed.We will develop a scenario that demonstrates the framework and the analysis methodology.