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1
Introduction
This chapter discusses the background that led to this
study, including a snapshot of the multimedia communi-
cations problems facing the Army. It also sets forth the
statement of task and describes the way in which the
committee carried out the task.
BACKGROUND
The U.S. Army is currently pursuing its modernization
vision for the Army of the late 1990s and the next century.
The vision recognizes that information and its effective
use will be key to tomorrow's military victories. Specifi-
cally, the Army will have to gather, transmit, process, and
distribute information on friendly and enemy forces
while at the same time denying the enemy similar
capabilities.
Under Army modernization initiatives, future battle-
fields are slated to become large digital networks. These
networks will carry vast numbers of information packets
at high speeds from sources such as sensors and proces-
sors to commanders and soldiers. This information will
be shared in near-real-time by Army units throughout the
operational zone. One end result will be a common view
of the battlefield, to include continuously updated loca-
tions of friendly and enemy forces.
The digital sensors and processors will create an
explosion of information that must be integrated and
communicated almost instantaneously if it is to be useful.
The goal is to provide the right data, at the right place,
at the right time. However, melding, screening, and
disseminating huge quantities of digital information
among friendly units engaged in battle are not within the
U.S. Army's current capability.
Commercial multimedia information technologies,
which exist and are emerging in the civilian sector,
could help the Army develop such information-han-
dling capabilities. These technologies could be consid-
ered for application throughout all echelons of the
battlefield.
STATEMENT OF TASK
Recognizing the information management and com-
munications problems and opportunities facing the Army,
and the potential use of commercial multimedia tech-
nologies to assist in their solution, the Deputy Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology asked
that the National Research Council conduct a study. The
study would examine the applicability of commercial
multimedia communications to Army command, control,
communications, and intelligence (C3I) needs. For the
purposes of this study, multimedia communications
means the capture, transport, storage, processing, deliv-
ery, and presentation of information consisting of digital
representations of combinations of text, sound, images,
video, and data structures for applications in real-time
collaborative work, messaging, and access to information.
This interpretation of the terminology "multimedia com-
munications" was based on discussions between the
chairman of the committee and the sponsor of the study
prior to the commencement of the study.
The statement of task for the study was established as
follows:
Review the Army's current and projected functional
requirements (mission requirements) for C3I for
echelons at the corps level and lower.
Gather information through such means as litera-
ture reviews and workshops to ascertain relevant
multimedia hardware and software technologies
that are currently available, or likely to be devel-
oped, for commercial applications.
Based on these reviews of Army requirements and
commercial multimedia technologies, recommend
technical approaches for meeting the Army's current
and projected C3I needs at the corps level and lower
with systems based on technologies originally de-
veloped for commercial markets. Technical ap-
proaches may include, among other things, direct
use of commercial products, adaptation of products
or production methods, and cooperative efforts.
· Describe potential battlefield capabilities, advanced
concepts, or operational impacts that might result
The word 'transport," as used above, refers to the movement of
information through transmission paths (e.g., radio or fiber), switches,
and other equipment to allow geographically separated entities to
exchange information with each other.
9
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10
COMMERCIAL MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOG1~FOR ~~-FIRSTCE~Y~YBA~1~S
.
from application of advanced communications and
that are not reflected in current or projected Army
C3I requirements.
Recommend a technology management strategy by
which the Army can most successfully use or adapt
commercial multimedia technologies for Army C3I
applications. Elements of such a strategy may in-
clude, among other things, requirements definition,
simulation, test and evaluation methodologies, ac-
quisition, and fielding.
STUDY APPROACH
The committee focused initially on requirements as
articulated from the point of view of those who would
apply technologies, embodied in systems and applica-
tions, both in battlefields and in operations other than
war. This represented a "customer" perspective that
focused on the anticipated benefits of the technology,
rather than the technology itself. Senior Army officers and
other Army personnel discussed C3I needs and systems
currently in use. In addition, the committee reviewed
numerous documents that expressed Army C3I needs.
The results are summarized in Chapter 2, which repre-
sents a customer-driven articulation of requirements.
Next came the points of view from representative com-
mercial suppliers of technology that could be used to
satisfy the customer's needs. The committee reviewed the
status of and trends associated with key multimedia
communications technologies, drawing on invited pre-
senters and its own experts. The committee configured
a generic layered architecture as a basis for identifying
building block technologies needed to meet Army re-
quirements. Summaries of these building block technolo-
gies, as well as some commercial applications and
important lessons learned, are found in Chapter 3.~
Chapter 4 contains recommendations from the com-
mittee regarding the applicability of existing and evolving
commercial multimedia technologies to Army needs. To
create these recommendations, the committee proceeded
as follows:
· The committee combined the needs of the Army,
as articulated in Chapter 2, with its understandings
~ The committee concentrated on building block technologies that
were selected on the basis of a generic layered architecture. The
building blocks ranged from lightweight, hand-held appliances to
generic enabling applications like multimedia information filtering but
excluded device technologies like microchips. These building block
technologies allow one to do things such as capture, store, move, and
recall information (i.e., they are application focused).
.
of commercial multimedia building block technol-
ogy capabilities and trends developed in Chapter 3.
· The committee assessed the likelihood that com-
mercially driven advances in each of these building
block technologies would occur faster than any
reasonable levels of Army-specific development.
· The committee also assessed requirements that
would be unique to the Army, that is, needs that
the Army would have that might not be met by
technologies driven by large commercial markets.
From these assessments, the committee judged
whether the Army should (a) adopt commercial
off-the-shelf technology, (b) adapt commercial off-
the-shelf technology, or (c) pursue Army-specific
development to meet its unique needs.
The net result was a set of recommendations about
how the Army should acquire multimedia technolo-
gies and a strategy for meeting its requirements.
In Chapter 4 the committee also examined how battle
command in a typical Army corps combat operation
might be affected by the multimedia capabilities enabled
by the building block technologies. The chapter con-
cludes with an analysis of the prognosis for realization
of the capabilities in the operational example.
In Chapter 5 the committee reviewed macro-level
experiences that have been obtained from applications
of multimedia technologies in the private sector (e.g.,
financial institutions). This review offered perspective
with respect to both the use of these technologies and
overarching lessons learned regarding how to success-
fully incorporate them into large, information-intensive
organizations. This perspective formed the basis of com-
mittee discussions concerning the need for the Army to
"reinvent" itself in order to gain the full benefits of the
use of multimedia technologies. Specifically, the commit-
tee considered changes at the corps level and below that
go beyond quantitative improvements in the ability to
acquire, process, and communicate information. For
example, changes in organization, doctrine, and tactics
may occur.
Chapter 6 addresses a strategy for technology manage-
ment. The chapter contains recommendations specifi-
cally targeted to the leaders, administrators, and
managers in the Army who will lead the transition from
today's Army to the Army of the future. While some of
these recommendations have appeared elsewhere, the
committee wants to add its weight to them. These
thoughts derive both from the preceding chapters and
the considerable expertise of the members of the com-
mittee in the application of commercial information
technologies. Finally, Chapter 7 is a compilation of the
committee's conclusions and recommendations resulting
from this study.
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IN7RODUC77ON
The committee determined that the time frame of its
study would extend approximately 15 years into the
future (i.e., from 1995 to 20109. The earliest impact of the
new multimedia technologies, beyond experimental and
ad hoc applications, is expected to occur around the year
2000 as they are first deployed into operational units. The
Army Enterprise Strategy3 envisions widespread deploy-
ment of applications associated with digitization of the
battlefield by the year 2010. The committee believes that
multimedia information technologies and applications
are evolving so rapidly that it is not realistic to project
3 The Army Enterprise Strategy is the single, unified vision for the
Army command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence
community. The document that describes this vision outlines the
strategy and the principles by which we will exploit current and future
information technologies, adopting new systems and using executive
decision making as a means to advance the capability of the Total Army
Force." (Department of the Army, 1993)
11
their nature and specific implications for Army battle-
fields more than a decade into the future. However, the
committee also believes that its recommendations on
technology management apply today and will continue
to apply beyond the time frame of the study.
REFERENCES
Department of the Army. 1993. Army Enterprise Strategy The Vision.
July 20.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
multimedia technologies
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