Tactical operations plane aware mobile wireless networking
Abstract
Modern tactical operations involve complex and dynamic patterns of information transmission and processing among numerous, decentralized actors organized in networks, hierarchies, and structured coalitions. Mobile networking and computing is of paramount importance for such operations, as it provides the platform for resilient, scalable, and decentralized decision-making. A key concern in mobile tactical networks is inter-dependencies between actors, a notion that is not captured in prevailing Mobile ad hoc Networking (MANET) solutions. In particular, the effects of decisions by an actor on the outcome of decisions by other actors (i.e., externalities) cannot be captured in current methods of designing communication networks to serve tactical objectives. This project aims to fill this important gap among today s tactical networks and modern military needs through the definition and use of Operational Graphs (OGs) which capture the various relationships (e.g., similarity, complementarity, concurrency) that may exist between actor needs. It will show how these operational graphs can be used in resource allocation decisions in modern tactical networks to improve the outcome of such complex operations with inter-dependencies. The project aspires to set the foundations for the design of the next generation of tactical communication and computing systems. A set of conceptual and technical innovations will be set forth towards this objective. Namely, this project will involve defining graphs that capture complex relationships between actors and their goals (the operational graph concept), devising metrics to quantify the importance of actors in these graphs, and using that information in the reconfiguration and design of such networks. The expected outcome is a bouquet of solutions leveraging the latest technological advances in network theory and mobile computing. At the conceptual level, the project introduces the novel viewpoint of mission-aware design and operation of multilayer wireless systems, and provides a unified treatment of communication and computing needs. Mission-wide performance metrics will be introduced that will dictate the design of novel cross-layer optimization techniques for tactical wireless networks. On an analytical level, our proposal encompasses new approaches to progress the state of the art and to provide heuristics for the choice of resilient sets of influential actors, as well as the use of the operational graph to design networks that account for more complex objectives.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 14, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1810378
Entities
People
- Leandros Tassiulas
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- Yale University