CHARLES RIVER ANALYTICS, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: A16-037

Description

Operational Energy (OE) is the energy, associated systems, information and processes required to train, move, and sustain forces and systems for military operations (Scholtes, 2013). Efficient OE requires effective management of energy and supply resources, including energy used by tactical power systems, generators and weapons platforms. Army Secretary Jon McHugh stated that leaders and individuals at all levels must understand how energy contributes to their respective operational roles and consider it in planning decisions and daily behaviors. To address these requirements, Charles River Analytics proposes to design and demonstrate the feasibility of Energy Models of Critical Components (E-MC2), a resource monitoring, energy prediction, and decision-support tool that uses probabilistic reasoning to construct and learn models of complex, real-world systems. Under E-MC2, we will build models of energy consumption and resource usage through Figaro, a probabilistic programming language (PPL) developed by Charles River. Using E-MC2s models, Commanders in environments such as forward operating bases will receive alerts and notifications relating to possible resource consumption issues. Commanders will also use E-MC2 as an aid to best plan and manage critical quantities, subject to anticipated operating constraints and external factors.