RINCON RESEARCH CORPORATION — Department of Defense STTR Phase I: AF20C-TCSO1

Description

The AF Air Combat Command (ACC) is interested in data science and digital environmental situational awareness. An important part of the ACC/A29 mission is understanding the status of the environment globally and how that can be leveraged for indications and warning (I&W). This feasibility study aims to determine the range of available cyber-physical systems (CPS) sensors and the nature of the data that can be derived from them. CPS sensors, such as traffic flow rate, do not require physical proximity in the region of interest (ROI), potentially providing intelligence with very low risk and cost. The potential blending of traditional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and non-traditional CPS sensors will be included in the assessment, with an emphasis on data that does not require physical proximity. The ubiquity of wireless technology provides expanding over-air access to potentially denied sites that cannot be accessed physically. Furthermore, the study aims to characterize RF wireless digital sources that are suitable for providing or enhancing situational awareness using cyber-based web/data scraping techniques. Phase I will provide a roadmap for exploiting traditional and non-traditional emissions using opportunistic CPS to enhance global persistent monitoring, particularly providing awareness in denied areas.