ITT Exelis unveils mobile access to GEOINT for ground troops

ITT Exelis is promoting new software based on its ENVI Image Analysis package that would allow ground troops real-time access to airborne and satellite image analysis through mobile devices.

The cloud-based ENVI Services Engine, which will be available early in 2013, was demonstrated for the first time at the GEOINT 2012 symposium this week near Orlando, Fla.

It was developed over a period of just three weeks to meet the needs of military commanders for a common software that gives quick access to analysis of tactical intelligence from satellites and other airborne sensors, said Joshua Nauman, chief engineer for the company’s geospatial intelligence services group.

The new software would allow commanders to access analyzed geospatial intelligence data in a format that would allow them to act on it. For example, access to analyzed video from Predator drones could help commanders identify and avoid areas where enemy troops are planting improvised explosive devices.

It also works in the other direction. Troops on the ground can synchronize what they see with the intelligence analysts get from other sources by uploading geotagged photos and video or plotting activity on a map with standard symbols, Nauman said.

“Every soldier is a sensor with this technology,” he said.

The new software incorporates open-source standards and middleware-agnostic architecture to allow analysis to be done in the cloud, providing online, on-demand access to sensor information, the company said.

The company also announced at the show an upgrade to its Jagwire software for the management and dissemination of tactical images and video. Jagwire 1.2 is designed to reduce the time needed to review and exploit surveillance data, the company said.