Common Operational Picture Research Articles

Distributed Maritime Operations and the Medical Challenge: How a Medical Common Operating Picture Can Help Bridge the Gap.

This work explores the challenges of delivering medical care in the geographically dispersed and resource-constrained environment of Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) and Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). Traditional medical planning approaches may struggle to adapt to the vast operational space, extended evacuation times, and limited medical force present in these scenarios. The concept of a Medical Common Operating Picture (COP) emerges as a potential solution. By providing a shared view of the medical situation across the theater, encompassing logistics, personnel, and patient data, a medical COP has the potential to facilitate medical command and control (MED C2) in DMO/EABO. The implementation of a medical COP has the potential to optimize resource allocation, enhance situational awareness, streamline medical evacuation, and reduce healthcare provider moral injury in large-scale combat operations. A medical COP will allow medical planners to make informed decisions on triage, resupply, and evacuation, ensuring the best use of limited medical resources. This is done by leveraging a comprehensive understanding of the medical landscape, enabling informed clinical and operational decision-making by humanitarian and combat personnel respectively. A fully realized medical COP system will enable a dynamic theater evacuation policy, balancing the conflicting needs of patient care at higher echelons with the operational expediency of returning servicemembers to their operational units, thereby maximizing evacuation effectiveness. It will further enable medical personnel to perform dynamic casualty triage based on operational realities, mitigating potential ethical dilemmas. Implementing such a medical COP system will require overcoming communication limitations to facilitate data exchange and potentially integrating clinical decision support tools for real-time data analysis and recommendations. It will also require the rapid adoption of modernized operational medicine documentation solutions by medical assets within the operational forces. Ultimately, this work suggests that a medical COP has the potential to bridge the gap between traditional medical planning and the unique demands of DMO/EABO, ultimately optimizing casualty care, maximizing resource efficiency, and preserving the fighting force.

Risk Mapping of COVID-19 to Create a Common Operating Picture Using Data from Wastewater Monitoring

Monitoring wastewater quality at the inlet of a wastewater treatment plant provides an overview of the health of the community connected to the respective wastewater treatment plant. Wastewater monitoring has been increasingly recognized as a valid tool in pandemic risk management, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. However, the results of wastewater monitoring are not yet fully utilized in the decision-making process of public governance across most of the Asia-Pacific region. This study explored the potential of geographic information systems to map the results of wastewater monitoring and provide a common operating picture for swift and informed decision-making, especially in times of disasters. By creating an online dashboard tool, we found that an additional merit of mapping wastewater monitoring is that it allows overlaying various other information, such as evacuation shelters, onto the same map. As the service areas of wastewater treatment plants, or sewersheds, are not necessarily aligned with geopolitical boundaries, mapping provides opportunities for re-calculating wastewater monitoring results at the city or district levels. The potential for recalculation is also applicable to overlayed information, indicating that information from wastewater monitoring may be used to assess disaster preparedness or multi-hazard risks. The dashboard prototype was discussed with government officials and feedback was obtained. We aim to further develop the findings so that the information from wastewater monitoring can be shared on a platform, such as the shared information platform for disaster management, in the future for effective risk governance.

Rapid Crisis Response in Resilient Cities: Emergency Response to and Reconnaissance of Earthquake Disasters in Taiwan

The devastating Chichi earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 highlighted the importance of disaster prevention and relief operations. In response to the challenge of extreme events and compound disasters, the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) contributes to operations at the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) of Taiwan by providing integrated information and timely suggestions, and it delivers a common operational picture to central and local governments through a decision support system. This study was undertaken to explore the emergency response towards the reconnaissance of earthquake disasters in Taiwan to illustrate how resilient cities ensure rapid crisis response with a focus on the NCDR disaster response decision support system. This study examines the decision support system used following the 2016 ML 6.6 Meinong earthquake. The results demonstrate that the first line of relief for the emergency response commander is data-driven decision-making.

Trust Environment for Cyber-Physical Systems: The DYNAMO Approach

This paper explores the evolving landscape of cybersecurity within cyber-physical systems, emphasizing the critical need for resilience and trust-building mechanisms. Grounded in the foundational perspectives of Cybersecurity Science, the study addresses the challenges posed by the complex interdependencies among physical, information, cognitive, and social domains. It introduces the DYNAMO platform, a novel approach that integrates Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) with Business Continuity Management (BCM) to enhance situational awareness and recovery planning. The platform's comprehensive methodology spans existing tool incorporation, detailed assessments, identification of gaps, simulations, and knowledge generation. Furthermore, the paper delves into the intricacies of cybersecurity information sharing, advocating for a unified approach to combat hybrid threats. The establishment of a common operational picture and shared situational awareness emerges as pivotal, underlining the indispensable role of technology, social trust, and resilience in securing critical information-sharing mechanisms in cyber-physical systems.

Decision Making in a Strategic Medical Command and Control Team During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study.

To achieve resilience in the response of a major incident, it is essential to coordinate major processes and resources with the aim to manage expected and unexpected changes. The coordination is partly done through timely, adequate, and resilience-oriented decisions. Accordingly, the aim of the present paper is to describe factors that affected decision-making in a medical command and control team during the early COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a qualitative method in which 13 individuals from a regional public healthcare system involved in COVID-19 related command and control were interviewed. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The factors affecting decision-making in medical command and control during early COVID-19 pandemic were grouped into 5 themes: organization, adaptation, making decisions, and analysis, as well as common operational picture. The present study indicated that decision-making in medical command and control faces many challenges in the response to pandemics. The results may provide knowledge about disaster resilience and can be utilized in educational and training settings for medical command and control.

Situational awareness and decision-making in a crisis situation: A crisis management cell in virtual reality

In a constantly evolving and hyper-connected world, the crises we are facing are changing, exceeding borders, and impacting every sector of activity. More data can be gathered from the crisis site, arriving in a large flow of various types from multiple sources such as sensors, open data, or social media. This huge amount of data coming continuously from the crisis site leads to an ever-changing situational awareness that must be built and understood as quickly as it is evolving to ensure a relevant and effective crisis response. To build a shared situational awareness, decision-makers can gather in a room where they can share and compare the information they receive from the crisis site to build a common operational picture that they can use to make decisions and implement them: this is a crisis management cell. However, the tools in traditional crisis management cells may not be able to keep up with the new requirements induced by these changes: we need modular and dynamic tools able to adapt to the crisis and the needs of the crisis managers while ensuring collaboration and information sharing not only between the stakeholders but also with remote experts that might be needed to understand the situation. We need to start conceiving the future crisis management cell that would meet the new exigencies of crisis management. This paper proposes our version of that future crisis management cell, using virtual reality to provide a dynamic and modular crisis management cell linked to artificial intelligence and decision-support systems.

The common operating picture as a collaborative governance tool for urban resilience

AbstractThrough analysis of the narratives of participants to the London Common Operating Picture (COP), this study discusses the “information warehouse” and the “trading zone” theoretical perspectives on the COP that consider it, respectively, as an information system to share common information on a crisis or as a relational space of learning in which common meanings enable decision‐making and coordination. The trading zone approach has started to examine its role as a coordination tool, but there is little empirical research on how it can foster network's collaboration. Through an exploration of the COP participants' positions as boundary spanners, this study puts forward the trading zone perspective, showing that in London it has become a regular mechanism of collaboration and coordination. It argues that boundary spanners operate at multiple boundaries that enable network's collaboration and coordination, and the relational character of the COP create bonds of trust that foster collaboration and common understandings on the role of communication, collaboration, information sharing, and coordination for the security of all. We show that the COP is a relational space that creates a sense of belonging to a common community of security that believes in the role of networks' information sharing and collaboration for urban resilience.

Critical Decision-making in Medical Command and Control During Early Covid-19: An Interview Study

Introduction:A resilient health care system is expected to withstand disruptive events and consistently deliver high quality care by continually adapting, learning, and improving. To achieve these expectations, medical command and control teams are responsible for making relevant strategic decisions, reallocating resources, and initiating cooperation. Early during Covid-19, medical command and control teams were faced with an unforeseen increase in number of patients, as well as unknown disease mechanisms and treatment regimes. Timely and adequate decision-making to become a resilient healthcare system and maintain high quality care was necessary. The aim of the present study was to describe the challenges and strategies in a medical command and control team during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.Method:A semi-structured retrospective in-depth interview study with phenomenological approach and inductive design was used. Thirteen experienced decision makers serving in a regional medical command and control team were interviewed using the Critical Decision Method. The interviews were analyzed using manifest conventional content analyses.Results:The respondents described twelve separate episodes during the Covid-19 management. The analysis resulted in five themes: organization, adaptation, common operational picture, assumptions, and analysis. Organization described how organizational challenges affected the decision-making process. Adaptation described the strategies to overcome the obstructive organizational factors. Common operational picture described how challenges in lack of available information affected decision-making and strategies used in creating situational awareness. Assumptions offered descriptions of strategies used to make decisions. Analysis emphasized descriptions and strategies affecting the decision-making process.Conclusion:This study enables a better understanding of how medical command and control teams can be organized and structured, while also highlighting challenges in maintaining high-quality care during unexpected events. The findings obtained in the present study provide further knowledge about disaster resilience and can be utilized in educational and training settings for medical command and control.

Learning from Each Other, Improving Medical Command and Control after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences from a Bosnian-Swedish Collaboration.

Introduction:The Covid-19 pandemic strained health care organizations to their limits, and sometimes beyond. Different countries took different approaches to minimize the effects of the pandemic, both to protect public health and to safeguard the capability of the health care system.A collaborative project between Sweden and Bosnia-Hercegovina with the aim to share and learn from experiences of managing the COVID-19 pandemic from a medical command and control perspective, initiated in 2021.The project departed from three theoretical stances: sociotechnical systems perspective, experiential learning theory, and organizational learning theory. Framing the problem using a holistic systems approach, compared to focusing on individual experts, allows for understanding interactions on a system level. Hence, could these theories contribute to supporting individuals' learning and organizational change?Method:A two-day workshop involving participants from both Swedish and Bosnian (N=21) medical command and control allowed for the exchange of experiences and another's perspective on similar challenges. During the workshop, two themes were addressed: common operational picture and evaluation. First, an introductory presentation was held, then the theme was discussed and reflected upon in small groups. After this, the groups presented their conclusions, and a full group discussion was moderated.Results:The discussions resulted in participants sharing perspectives on the selected themes, providing personal insights and experience, allowing for deepened and increased understanding of the theme. In spite of major differences between the Swedish and the Bosnian health care systems and Covid-19 approaches, several shared conclusions were identified. For example, reflections on decision processes and strategies, as well as interest in improving the crisis organization.Conclusion:Exposing participants to different views on well-known processes and challenges allows for reflecting, verbalizing, and reaching a deeper understanding. By displaying a culturally differently organized way of approaching the challenges the contrast is even more evident.

Research on the Architecture of Underwater Acoustic Environment Common Operational Picture in Joint Operation

With developing of information warfare, the environmental services make more and more significant effect for situational awareness and decision superiority in Integrated Joint Operation. As the mainly environmental factor of sea battlefield, the underwater acoustic environment has an important influence for the capability of sonar detecting and undersea weapon attacking. In this paper, a serving architecture of Underwater Acoustics Environment Common Operational Picture (UAE-COP) in Joint Operation for underwater acoustic environment is proposed, which includes systematic frame, information content, simulating models, technologies, and so on. Computer simulation and typical application shows that the proposed structure will be a valuable mode for underwater acoustic environment tactical decision support.

Assessing SDI Implementation Scenarios to Facilitate Emergency Mapping Operations in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic (DR) is a small island developing state (SIDS) highly exposed to disaster-risk phenomena, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. The Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) enables coordination and sharing of spatial information and services from multiple sources, while emergency mapping operations (EMO) help decision-makers build a common operational picture (COP) of impacted communities. Assessment of future scenarios for SDI implementation to meet emergency mapping goals requires the consideration of a wide range of stakeholders with different objectives. We make use of multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) in the case study of DR to evaluate government, private sector, emergency mapping team (EMT), and academia perspectives of three governance scenarios (Going-Concern, Increasing-Hierarchy, and Increasing-Network) for SDI implementation. Our findings suggest that the ‘Increasing Network’ scenario is the most suitable for SDI implementation. A well-coordinated inter-organizational network through a SDI should empower more stakeholders to participate in EMO. This work highlighted the increase of public-private partnerships as a key criterion to share costs and efforts to effectively support emergency mapping tasks. Findings reported herein could assist decision-makers in designing roadmaps to enhance SDI implementation in the DR. This knowledge will also support future studies/practices in other SIDS, which share similar natural hazards and development issues.

Study on Cyber Common Operational Picture Framework for Cyber Situational Awareness

The remarkable development of the Internet has made our lives very convenient, such as through the ability to instantaneously transmit individual pictures. As a result, cyber-attacks are also being developed and increasing, and the computer/mobile devices we use can become infected with viruses in an instant. Rapid cyber situational awareness is essential to prepare for such cyber-attacks. Accelerating cyber situational awareness requires Cyber Common Operational Pictures, which integrate and contextualize numerous data streams and data points. Therefore, we propose a Cyber Common Operational Pictures framework and criteria for rapid cyber situation awareness. First, the system reaction speed based on the user’s request and the standard for easily recognizing the object shown on the screen are presented. Second, standards and frameworks for five types of visualization screens that can directly recognize and respond to cyber-attacks are presented. Third, we show how a system was constructed based on the proposed framework, as well as the results of an experiment on the response time of each visualization screen. As a result of the experiment, the response speed of the 5 visualization screens was about 0.11 s on average for inquiry (simple) and 1.07 s on average for inquiry (complex). This is consistent with the typical response times of the studies investigated in this paper. If CyCOP is developed in compliance with the framework items (UI, object symbol, object size, response speed) presented in this paper, rapid situational awareness is possible. This research can be used in cyber-attack and defense training in the military field. In the private sector, it can be used in cyber and network control.

Maritime information sharing environment deployment using the advanced multilayered Data Lake capabilities

Establishing an efficient information sharing network among national agencies in maritime domain is of essential importance in enhancing the operational performance, increasing the situational awareness and enabling interoperability among all involved maritime surveillance assets. Based on various data-driven technologies and sources, the EU initiative of Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), enables the networked participants to timely exchange information concerning vessel traffic, joint SAR & operational missions, emergency situations and other events at sea. In order to host and process vast amounts of vessels and related maritime data consumed from heterogeneous sources (e.g. SAT-AIS, UAV, radar, METOC), the deployment of big data repositories in the form of Data Lakes is of great added value. The different layers in the Data Lakes with capabilities for aggregating, fusing, routing and harmonizing data are assisted by decision support tools with combined reasoning modules with semantics aiming at providing a more accurate Common Operational Picture (COP) among maritime agencies. Based on these technologies, the aim of this paper is to present an end-to-end interoperability framework for maritime situational awareness in strategic and tactical operations at sea, developed in EFFECTOR EU-funded project, focusing on the multilayered Data Lake capabilities. Specifically, a case study presents the important sources and processing blocks, such as the SAT-AIS, CMEMS, UAV components, enabling maritime information exchange in CISE format and communication patterns. Finally, the technical solution is validated in the project’s recently implemented maritime operational trials and the respective results are documented.

Current Status and Issues of Information Sharing in Disaster Response in Japan: Information Linkage by “SIP4D”

Information sharing by related organizations is crucial in disaster response. In the event of a large-scale disaster that makes it difficult for the affected local government to respond independently, support from the central government and non-affected local governments is required. In such cases, effective activities by support organizations cannot be expected unless sufficient information is shared. The authors are currently working on the research and development of a platform for sharing information held by related organizations in a Japanese government project. In particular, they focus on the common operational picture (COP) necessary for effective activities by unifying the situational awareness of related organizations. This paper reports on the progress of the project, which commenced in 2014, and introduces current issues, directions for solving them, and efforts toward the advanced use of disaster information. Based on the results of a questionnaire distributed among local governments nationwide at the beginning of the project, the authors provide an overview of the state of disaster information system development in 2014. Based on the experience of actual disaster response, the authors will discuss the activity status of the Information Support Team (ISUT), the current status and issues of Shared Information Platform for Disaster Management (SIP4D), and NIED-Disaster Information-Sharing System (NIED-DISS).

지상전술 C4I체계 특허기반 기술 동향분석에 관한 연구

In this research, we analyzed the patent trends of core technologies among ATCIS(Army Tactical Command Information System). The core technologies of the C4I System are the information data integrate, COP(Common Operational Picture), system interoperability technology, As for the search country for the key technology trends, the analysis period was limited from 1990 to 2020 for the published and registered patent document in Korea, US, China, Japan, and Europe which are major patent application countries. To analyze the technology trend of the core technology of the ATICS, a technology classification diagram was prepared, and search terms were derived based on this. After the search was executed, valid data was detected, and the data were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed to draw up a technology plow chart to derive the domestic and foreign technology level results of the core technology. This paper intends to provide technical information necessary for system development of the ATCIS in the future by identifying the flow of technology development of the C4I system and the latest development trends in major countries.

RApid Data Integration and Visualization (RADIV) in Subsurface Operations

AbstractComplex subsurface operations are characterized by a life‐threatening environment, a skilled and initiative opponent, and the absence of predictability of the events due to a high level of interdependencies. The reduction of complexity by provision of essential information is crucial for decision‐making and rapid integration and visualization of heterogeneous data is essential for successful mission accomplishment. Currently, only standalone applications are available for the underground operational environment, and collaborative planning and working spaces in command and control are missing. The RApid Data Integration and Visualization (RADIV) process addresses exactly this challenge and ensures the lateral continuity of visualization systems across the entire reality‐virtuality continuum (2D ⇔ 3D ⇔ mixed reality). It provides a comprehensive command and control system for subterranean operations by processing and visualizing data in different views for different purposes. Integration of these data within the Subsurface Operations Mission Tool (SOMT) will increase the decision quality by improved perception and collaboration. Close cooperation and information exchange between operators and action forces is a prerequisite for success by displaying the relevant information within the truly comprehensive common operational picture, thereby enabling more accurate and precise action reducing own losses and collateral damage.

Standardization and Interoperability of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) for Disaster Management

Abstract There are many recognized use cases for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) in emergency and disaster management, but there are obstacles to the full realization of this technology’s potential. More stringent training and certification requirements for public safety use of sUAS is a crucial step in achieving standardization of operations, a common operational picture, interoperability, increased airspace safety, and public acceptance. The purpose of this study is to move toward standards for public safety sUAS pilot training requirements. This research employs a mixed methods approach to investigate the current state of training requirements and trends in public safety sUAS programs. This included a review of the relevant literature, an analysis of survey data, and a combination of structured and semi-structured interviews. While the literature clearly shows many sUAS emergency management applications, it also identifies dangers that must be mitigated. Synthesizing the literature findings with the survey and interview data resulted in four categories of possible sUAS training standard recommendations: progressive levels of certification, flight time minimums, task-focused practical training, and proficiency demonstrations. These recommendations have both national and international applicability.

Towards Generation of Synthetic Data Sets for Hybrid Conflict Modelling

Design proposal for an AI-driven military situational awareness application. Current events in Ukraine have emphasized the importance of the Information Environment in supporting military operations. Activities in the physical domain are processed in the virtual domain of computers and networks before being interpreted by the human cognitive domain where decisions are made. Commanders at all levels have an ever increasing amount of information of varying latency and reliability available to them from a variety of sources. These range from highly sophisticated and complex bespoke surveillance systems to individuals equipped with a smartphone and Internet connection. An effective commander must be able to assimilate all the information sources available to them and be able to visualise the battlespace in an accurate and timely manner. To assist them, there are already a wide variety of software applications capable of receiving multiple inputs and displaying the disposition of military forces within a mapping environment. However, these tools place the interpretation and analysis responsibilities with the human operator. This paper proposes an AI driven process in which the initial analysis and correlation function is conducted in real time and in response to data inputs from multiple sources. This presents the decision maker with a fused, correlated and predictive Common Operational Picture providing a clear information advantage.

Project Faster — Tools For First Responders

This paper presents tools and technologies for first responders (FRs) carrying out tasks at crisis scenes. These technologies are being developed in the framework of the European scientific research project FASTER. There are innovative tools that can help rescuers respond quickly and effectively to save human life and health. This work concerns improving and extending communication and situational awareness for rescuers, smart textiles, autonomous or remotely controlled vehicles. The main point is to integrate the tools into a system coordinated using a mobile operation command centre that will provide a portable common operational picture (PCOP). For the project, the key is to increase the safety of first responders, not just the efficiency of their operations.

A user-centric optimization of emergency map symbols to facilitate common operational picture

ABSTRACT Common operational understanding among engaged emergency responders is facilitated through shared operational pictures during crisis situations. Sharing is typically achieved through interactive tools, either desktop or web-based, in which map displays play an essential role. That role can be further strengthened if (1) agreed emergency symbols that are used in map-based interactive tools are sufficient to encode multifaceted operational information visually; and (2) the symbols are legible and meaningful for the diverse users of those tools. The authors revisited official emergency map symbols in use in Norway and reconsidered them against current requirements. To this end, they first conducted several meetings with stakeholders to elicit adequate revision requirements. Next, the reconsideration included the extension of the symbol set, symbol modification, and grouping. After the reconsideration, emergency management officers and specialists were interviewed. The interviews confirmed the agreement with the symbol categorization, extension of the symbols, and their modifications. The interviewees also made numerous suggestions to be considered in a follow-up study. Moreover, two concepts – symbol standardization and symbol harmonization – were proposed.