GROUND GUIDANCE: Revolutionary True OffRoad Navigation Software

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GROUND GUIDANCERevolutionary True Off-Road
Navigation Software

• Training for Transportation Basic Officer Leader
  Course, Fort Eustis
• (22 Apr 08)

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Agenda

• Ground Guidance Overview
• First User Jury Results
• MTS and Ground Guidance
• New Features
• Ground Guidance Training and Feedback

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1. Background
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1. Ground Guidance Overview
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Corporate Profile

• Leader in military off-road navigation software
• Private company incorporated 13 May 02
• Developed patented routing technologies
• Ground Guidance for routing around obstacles on
  the battlefield
• Turn-by-turn guidance for guiding soldiers along
  complex off-road routes

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What is Ground Guidance?

• Patented software that determines the Best
  Path between point A and B, Off-Road
• Generates Best Path Route and overlays over
  aerial photos, maps

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How Does Ground Guidance Work?

• Three databases are used Elevation, Land Cover,
  Aerial Photo
• Algorithms within the software utilize the three
  databases to determine the Best Path based on
  speed through the terrain
• Software can display Best Path over high
  resolution aerial image, topographical maps,
  roadmaps
• Runs on any Windows Mobile 2003 platform with GPS

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Ground Guidance Desktop and Handheld
Handheld
Desktop

• Primarily for route execution turn by turn
  directions
• Emergency re-routing
• Many of the same features as the desktop version
• Currently running on Magellan, Garmin and Trimble
  handheld devices.

• Planning Tool For Route Assessments
• Integrated into FalconView
• Primary, Alternate, Contingent and Emergency
  Routes
• Intervisibility Assessments
• Annotations cordon off, known enemy, IED
  locations, etc.

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Why GPS Is Not Enough Attack on the 507th
Maintenance Company

• Occurred on March 23, 2003 in An Nasiriyah, Iraq
• During rapid push to Bahdad, 600 vehicles
• One convoy followed BLUE instead of JACKSON route
• Convoy separated by 130 kilometers
• Used Garmin Etrex to plan direct route to
  reconnect
• Route was rough, deep sand, slow
• GPS waypoints were too sparse, only indicated
  general direction
• CPT King followed general direction, missed
  turns, had to perform two U-turns
• Ended up taking fire, engaging the enemy, eleven
  soldiers were killed

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Route Check
What is wrong with this route?
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Route Check (2)
It intersects a marsh and cliff
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Route Check (3)
Here is a faster route that avoids the marsh and
cliff
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Supply Route Networks
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Convoy Route and Schedule
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Cordon and Reroute
Without Cordon
With Cordon
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Alternate Routes
RoutePrimary
Route Secondary
Aerial Photo
Cost Grid
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Transportation Modes
ModeDismounted
ModeMounted
Aerial Photo
Cost Grid
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Enemy Avoidance
Route Fastest
Route Concealed
Aerial Photo
Cost Grid
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Intervisibility
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Concealed Routes
Fast routes minimize travel time based on a
selected transportation mode. The cost grid on
the right shows fast (green), slow (red),
and impassable (black) areas. Niland, California
Concealed routes minimize exposure while avoiding
slow areas. The cost grid on the right
shows concealed (green), exposed (red), and
impassable (black) areas. Fort Campbell, Kentucky
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Concealed Routes (2)
Route Fastest
Route Concealed
Aerial Photo
Cost Grid
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Unit Prediction
One Minute
Five Minutes
Ten Minutes
Twenty Minutes
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Unit Prediction (2)
One Minute
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Unit Prediction (3)
Five Minutes
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Unit Prediction (4)
Ten Minutes
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Unit Prediction (5)
Twenty Minutes
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2. First User Jury
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Training at Fort Eustis

• Trained students of Transportation Basic Officer
  Leader Course (TBOLC) class 04-08 on Ground
  Guidance
• Roughly 40 students
• Familiarized ourselves with MTS system

TBOLC students relax during break in training.
MTS Lab at Fort Eustis, VA, MTS User Jury, May
2008
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Exercise at Fort A.P. Hill

• Manassas Run
• 5-day Situation Training Exercise (STX)
• TBOLC class 04-08
• Installed Ground Guidance onto MTS computers
• Observed mission planning and execution and
  recorded feedback

2LT Chew conducts the assistant convoy
commanders briefing. FOB Wilcox at Fort A.P.
Hill, VA, MTS User Jury, May 2008
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Mission Planning

• Routes were pre-planned by cadre
• Soldiers mapped routes on large sand table for
  briefings
• Meticulously taped colored yarn to floor to
  represent MSRs and ASRs
• Soldiers still used Ground Guidance
• Obtain 10-digit grid coordinates
• Measure distance accurately along road segments

LTs prepare sand table for STX briefings. 508th
Transportation Company Command Post at Fort A.P.
Hill, VA, MTS User Jury, May 2008
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Mission Planning (2)

• Strip maps consumed huge time during mission
  planning
• Ideally each LT had one
• Hand-drawn, inaccurate, out of scale, incomplete,
  inconsistent
• We learned that Ground Guidance could drastically
  improve this workflow

2LT Anderson reviews a strip map. Situation
Training Exercise (STX) at Fort A.P. Hill, VA,
MTS User Jury, May 2008
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Mission Execution

• Ground Guidance assisted greatly
• Overlay position icon on assigned route
• Inform rest of convoy of upcoming maneuvers
• Relaying grid coordinates upon getting IEDd by
  cadre

2LT McBride navigates with Ground Guidance during
the sticks. Situation Training Exercise (STX)
at Fort A.P. Hill, VA, MTS User Jury, May 2008
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Results

• Success!
• Primordial learned about common MTS user
  workflows
• TBOLC students indicated Ground Guidance
  integration with MTS would be of great value
• Top 10 features
• MSR and ASR overlays
• 3d mode
• Distance between CPs (leg distance)
• Distance to the next CP from your current
  location
• Gridlines
• Checkpoints
• Convoy routes
• Undo button
• Route up
• Maneuver alert

2LT Aguilar-Harper. Manassas Run at Fort A.P.
Hill, VA, MTS User Jury, May 2008
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3. MTS and Ground Guidance
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What MTS Does Well

• Displays a digital map
• Displays positions
• Of you
• Of your friends
• Worldwide instant messenger
• RFID, cargo tracking, In-Transit Visibility
  (ITV), etc.

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What MTS Does Poorly

• Displays a digital map, but you must restart the
  program when you move outside the picture!
• Displays positions
• Of you
• Of your friends
• But updates these positions only every 5 minutes!
• Difficult/impossible to create map overlays
• Routes

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What Ground Guidance Does for MTS

• Use Ground Guidance features on MTS machine
• View high-resolution maps (aerial photos, topos,
  etc.)
• View MSR and ASR networks
• Generate routes for entire convoys
• Get turn-by-turn directions as you navigate
• Print strip maps with essential information
• Reroute on the fly

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4. New Features
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MSR and ASR Overlays
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Standard Route v.s. Supply Route
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Strip Map By Hand v.s. Printed
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Linkup Route When Off Route
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Linkup Route When Switching Routes
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Maneuver Alert
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Leg Distance
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Distance To Next Maneuver
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Grid Lines
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Route Up
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5. Training and Feedback
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