Tool for VISualization of Threats and Attacks (VISTA) in Urban Environments

Traditionally, the military intelligence analyst has been able to focus on a known enemy within situations that are relatively comprehensible. Uniforms, military equipment, and communication patterns, to name a few, could identify the enemy. However,increasingly the United States Army faces a new battlefield and a non-traditional enemy. The need exists for a tool that intelligence analysts can use to examine the sudden, non-linear, emergent events that can characterize operations in urban settings.In this project, we will develop a prototype VISualization of Threats and Attacks (VISTA) tool, which will be based on innovative modeling techniques from the field of complex systems. To guide development, we will begin by identifying softwarerequirements for eventual integration with existing intelligence analysis systems (e.g., ASAS-Light). We will then develop the visualization tool and model, which will be based a multi-agent approach. This system will enable forecasting of possibleevents based on the emergent behavior of the interacting agents. The system will then be tested using sets of historical data. By combining operational knowledge and research with predictive equations and models, VISTA will be capable of giving theanalyst the vision required to produce enhanced intelligence estimates and predictions. The outcome of this program of development will be a prototype tool that can assist military intelligence analysts in detecting emerging patterns in urban operations.This tool will greatly aid analysts in predicting areas of disruption, for currently there is no system capable of handling the complex analysis of urban strife. Beyond Army intelligence, this tool will have broad application to a variety of issuescurrently impacting homeland defense.