An open cloud computing infrastructure for geospatial information to help emergency responders in a disaster is being tested by a government-industry team.
The real-time simulation test by six members of the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium is being conducted for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and is using unclassified NGA information depicting a global, multidisciplinary response similar to the one that took place after the 2010 Haitian earthquake.
NCOIC said the test is to confirm interoperability and demonstrate different technologies and data sources supporting a unified international disaster response.
“Each country in the simulation has its own unique communications sensitivities,” said Tip Slater, NCOIC director of business development, “so an important measure of the success of our environment will be the ability to work within those requirements and protect their data.
“The companies participating in NCOIC’s disaster-response simulation are willing to come together and share their expertise and applications to solve technological challenges and potentially save time, dollars and lives. Their work on behalf of the NGA will ultimately result in a process to enable a government or agency to rapidly assemble a collaborative, cloud environment for providers and consumers of data in the event of a major disaster or other complex, global operation.”
NCOIC said the community cloud infrastructure was defined and built earlier this year.
The demonstration began last month and will last for three months. NCOIC is a global not-for-profit organization with 50 members representing 12 countries. It aims to enable and promote cross-domain interoperability in areas such as aerospace, civil and military operations and air traffic management.
