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Sensor, Data, and Information Fusion

Title

Abstract

A Data Fusion Approach to Indications and Warnings of Terrorist Attacks

Indications and Warning (I&W) of terrorist attacks, particularly IED attacks, require detection of networks of agents and patterns of behavior. Social Network Analysis tries to detect a network; activity analysis tries to detect anomalous activities. This work builds on both to detect elements of an activity model of terrorist attack activity – the agents, resources, networks, and behaviors. The activity model is expressed as RDF triples statements where the tuple positions are elements or subsets of a formal ontology for activity models. The advantage of a model is that elements are interdependent and evidence for or against one will influence others so that there is a multiplier effect. The advantage of the formality is that detection could occur hierarchically, that is, at different levels of abstraction. The model matching is expressed as a likelihood ratio between input text and the model triples. The likelihood ratio is designed to be analogous to track correlation likelihood ratios common in JDL fusion level 1. This required development of a semantic distance metric for positive and null hypotheses as well as for complex objects. The metric uses the Web 1Terabype database of one to five gram frequencies for priors. This size requires the use of big data technologies so a Hadoop cluster is used in conjunction with OpenNLP natural language and Mahout clustering software. Distributed data fusion Map Reduce jobs distribute parts of the data fusion problem to the Hadoop nodes. For the purposes of this initial testing, open source models and text inputs of similar complexity to terrorist events were used as surrogates for the intended counter-terrorist application.

  Keywords: Data Fusion, Hadoop, Mahout, Semantic Distance, Probability Mass, Activity Model Matching

A Mathematical Cyber Ontology (CybOnt) for Cyber Data Fusion and Cyber Data Exchange

Silver Bullet Solutions, Inc., with teammates CUBRC, Inc. and Edutainiacs, Inc., is developing a mathematical ontology for cyber events, entities, behaviors, associations, and intentions – cyber Situation Awareness (SA) – and associated cyber Command and Control (C2) – Network Operations (NetOps), Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO), and Offensive Cyber Operations (OCO). This Cyber Ontology (CybOnt) will improve interoperable data exchange between cyber operations nodes and enable data fusion for detection of cyber attacks as they are being planned and before they become incidents.

An Information Fusion Framework for Data Integration

Despite high demand for and years of dozens of product offerings, enterprise data integration remains a manually intensive effort, with custom development for each data interface. It involves linguistics, ontological models, uncertain reasoning, inference, and other non-exact and not fully understood sciences. This paper presents an approach for making progress in data integration technology by paralleling progress made in the data fusion community where the fundamental problems are now being appreciated. A framework for information fusion as a means to achieve data integration is presented.

Real-time DBMS for Data Fusion

As data and information fusion technology and application evolves, the need is increasing to cope with large amounts and diverse types of data. Although there would be many benefits to employment of Data Base Management Systems (DBMS) in automated fusion processes the data access throughput requirements of automated fusion processes have vastly exceeded the performance of off-the-shelf DBMS’s. The availability of large random access memories is allowing the development of “real-time” data base management systems. While these are currently being used in financial market and telecommunications applications, their ability to bring DBMS benefits to data fusion applications has yet to be explored. This paper presents results of experimentation with these emergent “real-time” DBMS’s for automated fusion applications. We used algorithms, data characteristics, and scenarios from deployed and R&D systems. The applications-dependent data structures were converted to Entity-Relationship models and generated into “real-time” and conventional DBMS’s. Keywords: Data Fusion, DBMS, real-time, correlation, knowledgebase, embedded

Early Experiments with Ontology-Based Fusion

There is a growing sense in the fusion community that an underlying ontology would improve fusion. We explored the idea and reported the results of experimentation to ISIF in 2002 and 2003. In 2004 we have continued with theory development and experimentation. The experimentation described in this paper involved the development of a formal ontology from a data model so that automated processes can reason dynamically, by virtue of onthe formal properties of the ontology relationship types. The experimentation has been for a next generation fusion architecture that is an open architecture in the well-documented sense that adds an ontology layer for further decoupling and coordination of software components. The experimentation has involved rehosting of existing fusion algorithms to operate within the ontology and a publish/subscribe architecture. While the experiments to date have shown how the components can be made to interoperate at the data level, we believe the architecture will ultimately promote or enforce probabilistic interoperability between components providing a fusion open architecture at the probabilistic level. Keywords: Data Fusion, ontology, semantic modeling

Airport Movement Area Knowledge-Assisted Association and Tracking

This white paper describes an approach for improving airport movement area aircraft and vehicle tracking using knowledge-based techniques. This design employs a knowledge-based fusion approach that would take into account airport geography, vehicle movement patterns, static prior data, expert rules, and sensor characteristics heuristics.

Bayes Networks for Diverse-State and Large-Scale Fusion

Generalized inference provides an elegant formulation for fusing sources that have many diverse states that are nonetheless inter-related, be it in often in weak and complex ways. Indeed, levels 1 through 3 fusion can be characterized as inferring states from evidence; estimation can be viewed as a specific inference discipline. Unfortunately, the elegant inference formulation rapidly becomes intractably complex for any real-world problems due to the permutations of interrelationships between the interacting state variables. Bayesian networks provide a way of coping with the complexity. Bayesian networks are techniques for making probabilistic inference tractable and have been in broad literature and research for quite some time. This paper describes the application of the Bayes network technique to a real-world large-scale fusion problem. It provides experience with the many adaptations and extensions that are required and illustrates some issues that need further research. Keywords: Entity-Relationship Modeling, Semantic Network, Inference Network, Data Fusion

Multi-Hypothesis Database for Large-Scale Data Fusion

Progress in deploying large-scale fusion systems has been slow in recent years despite substantial algorithmic developments. One reason is that there has not been a way to address a large-scale enterprise in a tractable manner that allows modular and collaborative evolution of fusion algorithms. Information and data modeling techniques have become quite mature over the past 20 years so that it is now possible to model the information domain of a large-scale enterprise tractably.  By extending information modeling constructs to semantic and inference nets, it is possible to use these information models as a basis for large-scale fusion.  This paper shows how to instrument an information model into a fusion inference structure.  Algorithms encapsulation and computing techniques are discussed. This approach could lead to foundations for large-scale fusion in defense, intelligence, law enforcement, and air traffic control systems.   Keywords:  Entity-Relationship Modeling, Semantic Network, Inference Network, Data Fusion




EnterPrise Architecture, System Of Systems Engineering, and model based Systems engineering

Title

Abstract

Analyzing and Presenting Multi-Nation Process Interoperability Data for End-Users

Silver Bullet was tasked by the DoD CIO to brief the International Enterprise Architecture Conference in London on:

International Defense Enterprise Architecture Specification (IDEAS) was developed to deliver a unified specification for the exchange of military architectures between coalition partners.  The nations/organizations are Australia, Canada, UK, USA and, as observers Sweden & NATO.  The BORO methodology (http://www.boroprogram.org/) is being used to re-engineer and deconflict legacy systems.    It, 1) provides a precise, mathematical approach to comparing information, 2) is very easy to understand, and stakeholders readily commit to use the methodology, and 3) is guaranteed to produce a correct representation, and is fully transparent at every stage –stakeholders are involved so buy-in is kept all the way through.  Its layers are, 1) foundation based on Set Theory, 2) common patterns based on the foundation, 3) domain patterns that specialize the common patterns.  This fits well the many aspects of interoperability:  1) communication, 2) system, and 3) procedural/doctrinal.  An experiment was conducted between the nations to address current issues in warfare Casualty Management.  The use Cases are, 1) Scud missile attack in Desert Storm, and 2) Operation Desert Storm Overall.  The conclusions are that exchanging architecture data during coalition operations planning process can automate interoperability comparisons to reduce resource requirements, speed the process, potentially detect issues that may have been missed, and de-bias national interpretations of other doctrines.  But it depends on a precise data exchange standard and IDEAS grounding in a formal ontology provides such precision.

Implementation of the International Defence Enterprise Architecture Specification (IDEAS) Foundation in DoD Architecture Framework 2.0

Silver Bullet was tasked by the DoD CIO to brief the International Enterprise Architecture Conference in London on:

Why DoD used IDEAS – benefits
1. Re-use of common patterns saved a lot of work
2. Reconciliation and analysis tool
3. Information pedigree model
4. Design reification and requirements traceability
5. Services description
6. Semantic precision
7. Mathematical precision
• How we implemented IDEAS
• Implementation challenges

DoDAF 2.0 Meta Model (DM2) Briefing for the JAWG

Silver Bullet was tasked by the DoD CIO to brief the Joint Staff Architecture Working Group on:

• DoDAF Meta Model (DM2) pieces
• Formal ontologic foundation: International Defence
• Enterprise Architecture Specification (IDEAS) overview
• Why we used IDEAS – benefits
• Simplification
• Quality
• Expressiveness
• The Physical Exchange Specification (PES)
• Active Configuration Management
• GFI Resources

DM2 Ontologic Foundation and Pedigree Model

Silver Bullet was tasked by the DoD CIO to brief the NSA Commercial Solutions Center (NCSC) on:

• THE DM2 FOUNDATION
• DODAF PHYSICAL EXCHANGE
• SPECIFICATION
• EXCHANGE OF DM2 PES XML DOCUMENTS
• PES XSD XML DOCUMENT EXAMPLES
• UPDM SEARCH AND RESCUE
– ISP SAMPLES

DoD Architectures and Systems Engineering Integration

Silver Bullet was tasked by the DoD CIO to brief the NDIA 15th Annual Systems Engineering Conference on:
1. DoDAF evolution plan
2. Fit-for-purpose (FFP) and legacy views
3. DoDAF reification, requirements, and SE “V” model
4. DoDAF meta-model for:
– DOTMLPF
– temporality, behavior, scenarios, M&S, executable
architectures
5. DoDAF artifacts X SE documents and artifacts

Leveraging DoDAF 2.0 in the DoD Enterprise

Silver Bullet was tasked by the DoD CIO to brief the International Enterprise Architecture Conference in London on:

• DoD CIO’s Role with DoDAF V2.0
• DoDAF V2.0’s Role in DoD’s Six Core Processes
• Types of Architectures in DoD
• Reference Architectures and DoDAF V2.0
• Two examples
– Enterprise-wide Access to Network and Collaboration
Services (EANCS) Reference Architecture
– Active Directory Optimization Reference Architecture
(ADORA)
• Vision of role of the DoDAF Meta Model (DM2) in
empowering architecture roles in core processes.

Overview and Role of Enterprise Architecture in DoD Governance

Silver Bullet was tasked by the DoD CIO to separately brief DISA and the joint VA-DHA workshop on:

• Requirements for EA (the six core processes)
• Data Centric paradigm (why EA data is essential to success)
• Metamodel
• Method
• Presentation
• Fit-for-purpose
• CM

Briefing to the Software Engineering Institute (SEI Army Strategic Software Improvement Program (ASSIP) Action Group (AAG)

Silver Bullet was tasked by the DoD CIO to brief the Software Engineering Institute (SEI Army Strategic Software Improvement Program (ASSIP) Action Group (AAG) on:

• DM2 Purposes
• DM2 Modeling Conventions
• Foundation Ontology
• Partial walkthrough of a sample of DM2 LDM data groups
• Thoughts as to how this could aid software intensive PEO’s