The goal of the ActComm project is to develop technologies that will maximize the usability of complex, global computer and communications networks, focusing especially on wireless networks, for modern command-and-control applications. The main technical innovation is the concept of an active communications system. An active communications system consists of dynamic elements - active software, active information, active hybrid networks and active resource allocation. These active elements are introduced to make future military wireless computer and communications networks more robust, more powerful and more flexible under a wide variety of operating environments. Active elements will be coordinated by a novel architecture that uses advanced agents to manage network, computer and information assets delivering high confidence communications and computing.
The ActComm project builds on the project team's proven research in: 1) transportable agent systems; 2) dynamic stochastic control; 3) intelligent information organization and 4) wireless network management and protocols. An important strength of this project is that the team members have already made significant contributions in these areas thereby offering a unique opportunity to immediately apply advanced research results. This project will coordinate research across these disciplines and will prototype a new generation of intelligent agent systems for wireless systems.
Active software has the ability to migrate from node to node within a computer network. This capability allows code to move to large datasets for intensive processing, enhances fault tolerance in volatile networks and facilitates network management overall. The active software component will be based on our existing successful implementations of Agent Tcl and dynamic classes for network management.
Active information has the ability to organize itself using semantic and statistical analysis and can self-route automatically within a network. These capabilities are essential for moving information from archives and field deployed sensors attached to mobile and stationary platforms. Active information will be correlated to produce timely operational and tactical intelligence. Our work on information retrieval, organization and flow will be the basis for the implementation of active information.
Active hybrid networks, consisting of wireless, terrestrial and satellite links, have the ability to dynamically reconfigure routing, resources (such as information, compute servers, power and bandwidth) and even networking software. Bandwidth allocation, quality of service, admission control, network services and topology are poorly understood in a volatile network with large wireless segments. These characteristics must be effectively managed and altered dynamically in order to maximize effectiveness.
Active resource allocation uses dynamically changing network, application and information state variables as the basis for managing active networks. We will conduct research into computing dynamic solutions to very large scale adaptive control problems in which only partial model and state information is available. Agents will be used to collect state data and implement effective policies.
These components will be combined in the ActComm architecture making minimal assumptions about network and transport layer implementations and using only services that all implementations promise to deliver. In this way, we can use commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) networking hardware and upgrade as new hardware solutions become available.
An ActComm prototype system will be demonstrated in the ActComm Testbed on problems and scenarios constructed in collaboration with Department of Defense centers and laboratories. Direct participation by AT&T, ALPHATECH, Inc and Lockheed Martin will ensure relevance to DOD needs as well as facilitate technology transition into military and commercial sectors.