Data-Driven Decision Support for Installation Management
US Ignite is at the forefront of advancing Army modernization and technological innovation in collaboration with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and Fort Moore. Together, we continue pioneering the Smart Installation and Community Dashboard (SICD), a transformative initiative aligned with the 2018 National Defense Strategy’s vision of resilient, adaptive, and dispersed infrastructure.
In the initial phase of the SICD program, 2021-2023, US Ignite anchored the project in the Army Modernization goals to support soldiers and families by providing safe, high-quality places to work and live while ensuring mission readiness and power projection. The SICD enhances Fort Moore’s operational capabilities through a web-based dashboard that delivers unparalleled situational awareness via a garrison common operating picture.
Leveraging cutting-edge Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, data analytics, data fusion, artificial intelligence (AI), and industry-leading technical solutions, the SICD represents a leap forward in military infrastructure. Key partners include cybersecurity and cloud AI researchers from Columbus State University, front-end developers from PixelPillow, DoD cybersecurity and systems engineering experts from Karthik Consulting, and cloud analytics developers from Plainspoken Digital.
US Ignite fosters a culture of innovation, flexibility, and openness to new solutions for traditional challenges. The success of the SICD’s pioneering applications has already led to a further $6.97M investment from ERDC, underscoring the program’s potential to revolutionize Army operations.
Our ultimate goal is to use Fort Moore as a testbed to develop scalable, successful models for the entire Army enterprise. Explore the future of Army installations and discover more about SICD applications below.
SICD Applications:
- Heat Risk Management
- Building Fault Detection
- Energy Waste Savings
- Space Utilization using Mobile Occupancy (SUMO)
- Intelligent Intrusion Detection
- Installation Operations Tool
- Garrison Emergency Services Operational Enhancement
Learn more about the SICD applications below.
Heat Risk Management
The objective of the Heat Risk Management (HRM) project is to reduce heat-related injuries, like heat exhaustion and heat stroke, by implementing an IoT-based system for Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) monitoring. The HRM system aims to provide real-time weather awareness, standardize data collection, and streamline safety measures across the military base.
US Ignite, in collaboration with the Fort Moore Garrison Command Team, Chief Information Officer (CIO), The Maneuver Center of Excellence, The Army Heat Center, Chief Information Office (S6), the SICD liaison to the solution team, and ERDC researchers, developed the HRM application to provide real-time situational awareness of heat intensity and recommendations for training intensity directly to training safety officers. The project uses Questempt IoT sensors to measure WBGT every 20 minutes, providing continuous weather awareness to ground training commanders. Additionally, a system is implemented to send push notifications to the Company Leadership, Range Safety Officers (RSOs), and Officers in Charge (OICs) to enhance safety risk mitigation. A centralized data collection platform is also established to standardize WBGT readings across the entire installation, eliminating the need for numerous units to set up and maintain their own kit.
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Manual WBGT kit and units preparation for heat exhaustion prevention
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HRM Dashboard Screenshots
US Ignite released a minimum viable product (MVP) in September 2023 and will continue to improve the application under the SICD Phase 2 contract until September 2025. The ultimate goal is to bring additional awareness of high-risk conditions, streamline the WBGT data gathering and communication that will eventually help the installation prevent heat-related training injuries, remove the need for command-level WBGT devices, and increase training hours.
Building Fault Detection
Aligned with the DOD’s Strategy for Resilient and Healthy Defense Communities, this project sets forth the department’s commitment to fulfilling what defense leaders refer to as ‘’national security imperative and moral obligation’’ to provide the total force with healthy, safe, functional, and resilient environments. The Building Fault Detection tool proactively identifies the shortcomings in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and other electrical systems before a tenant complains or a more critical and expensive system failure occurs.
Building Fault Detection uses data fusion and an artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform to identify and alert the Fort Moore Directorate of Public Works Department (DPW) about building faults. The application fuses energy consumption and weather trend data with machine learning and AI models to determine when buildings consume more energy than expected and alerts the energy managers of a possible fault. US Ignite is now working on further refining the algorithm with asset-level facility data and occupancy data.
Screenshot of Building Fault Detection Dashboard
Energy Waste Savings
Running the HVAC and other electrical systems across the multiple Fort Moore facilities consumes significant amounts of energy and accrues costs. However, with the rise in telework, buildings often have minimal or no occupancy. If HVAC and other systems can be switched off during these times, it would result in significant energy and cost savings.
Recommendations for Energy Savings
US Ignite is collaborating with the Fort Moore Department of Public Works to make it easier to proactively manage power consumption with the Energy Waste Saving (EWS) Project. EWS aims to enable the energy management team to proactively reduce power consumption when no or low occupancy patterns are detected in conjunction with high power consumption and to proactively return the power to normal when occupancy is once again detected at those facilities.
The EWS pilot will cover around 100 facilities that form part of the Utility Monitoring Control System (UMCS), a platform that helps to monitor, control, and optimize the use of energy. In the next phase, EWS would scale to close to 1,400 facilities.
Space Utilization using Mobile Occupancy (SUMO)
The Space Utilization using Mobile Occupancy (SUMO) project intends to use a new method to gauge if a building is over or under-utilized using mobile phone pings. It compares the number of mobile devices in a building at a given time to the building’s authorized utilization and complements other applications such as ePRISMS. The goal is to enhance the existing systems to be more accurate, comprehensive, and updated as they rely on manual surveys and reporting to estimate utilization. Identifying installation facilities with low space utilization is beneficial for Fort Moore Leaders and can support stationing action, swing space planning, RPLANS requirements matching, or contractor space allocation.
Sample SUMO dashboard
The SUMO application offers various interactive charts that provide insights on different buildings’ space utilization, allowing the Master Planning team to filter and sort by category codes, building sizes, etc. to get insights for key master planning decisions.
Intelligent Intrusion Detection
Developed in collaboration with top-tier vendors and leading academic institutions, the Intelligent Intrusion Detection initiative significantly enhances remote surveillance capabilities for Fort Moore’s Directorate of Emergency Services (DES). The solution equips the DES with an advanced surveillance system capable of swiftly identifying and alerting personnel to security-related concerns.
Building on the success of a previous US Ignite-led project, where advanced mobile surveillance systems in the form of trailers were introduced to high-risk areas within the installation, the Intelligent Intrusion Detection initiative leverages artificial intelligence to automatically detect and classify potential intruders. Unlike traditional CCTV systems that require constant monitoring by operators, this portable, trailer-based system is solar-powered and cellular-connected, allowing for rapid deployment wherever needed. This innovative approach not only saves patrol and response time but also streamlines operations within the base defense operations center (BDOC).
US Ignite selected LiveView Technologies (LVT) to deliver a tailored surveillance solution for Fort Moore through a competitive procurement process. The system, deployed using four remote surveillance trailers, proved to be highly effective and user-friendly during an extensive 11-month pilot phase. Additionally, Columbus State University (CSU) contributed groundbreaking algorithms that enable the system to accurately distinguish between authorized personnel and potential threats, significantly enhancing security protocols and reducing false alarms. By utilizing intelligent detection algorithms, DES can now focus on genuine threats, ensuring prompt and appropriate responses to unauthorized activities.
The intelligent detection algorithms relieve the burden on DES staff, enabling them to direct their attention to genuine threats.
Algorithm Detection Sample |
Civilian Detection at Camp Merrill |
Installation Operations Tool
The Installation Management Enterprise lacks a standard Garrison Common Operating Picture (COP) across installations, preventing rapid and accurate decision-making and operations among garrison commands and directorates. To help the Army address this gap, US Ignite is managing an ‘Installation Operations Tool’ (IOT) project to develop the requirements and provide a live demonstration of a potential solution at Fort Moore. This project is intended to inform the requirements, and may become a potential solution for part of the Virtual Toolbox for Installation Mission Effectiveness (VTIME), a proposed Army business system with requirements being informed by and active prototyping executed by USACE-ERDC.
Since October 2023, US Ignite has engaged industry experts, Fort Moore leadership, and officials across the Army and other services to develop the requirements and explore potential solutions for an IOT. To meet the multiple installations’ diverse missions, the IOT will need to adopt a highly flexible dashboard-of-dashboards approach, allowing users to easily create visualizations and workflows. The system will also need to feature agile and secure IT/OT integration capabilities to integrate with a wide range of both accredited and commercial information systems that exist in different installations. Additionally, the IOT will need to automate workflows and processes to streamline base operations, business intelligence and GIS capabilities, and overlay analytics and flexible anomaly detection to the installations’ data feeds for proactive issue detection and alerting. An overview of the project and capability can be found below.
IOT Project Overview
US Ignite collected feedback from industry on capabilities through an Industry Request for Information (RFI) and released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to competitively procure the services of an Installation Operations Tool Implementation Vendor. US Ignite awarded a contract to Sabel Systems Technology Solutions, an IOT Implementation Vendor and will share results from the demonstrating of an initial operational capability soon.
Garrison Emergency Services Operational Enhancement (GESOE)
US Ignite’s Garrison Emergency Services Operational Enhancement (GESOE) project is poised to improve the management of Fort Moore Emergency services, enhancing the safety and security of the personnel and community. By implementing operational enhancements through real-time tracking, data logging, and advanced analysis of vehicle locations GESOE aims to elevate situational awareness and gain valuable insights into patterns and trends. This initiative will empower 911 center operators and emergency responders with better situational awareness before and during an incident response, reducing response times and improving incident management.
GESOE leverages mature technology solutions to streamline emergency response processes. Key goals include evaluating the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency of innovative approaches for providing real-time data, developing comprehensive use cases for data integration, and documenting the flow of operational activities, decision points, utilized systems, and key performance parameters. By tracking and storing near-real-time locations of at least ten emergency vehicles and making this data securely accessible, GESOE aims to deliver a seamless common operating picture that enhances coordination and response capabilities. GESOE is ensuring the safety and security of Fort Moore and its personnel, representing a significant step forward in enhancing emergency services effectiveness.
| GESOE aims to increase situational awareness for first responders |
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