Aptima Develops Tools for U.S. Military to Detect and Defuse Enemy Threats and Networks

DoD contracts use 'behavioral and social sciences' to advance military capabilities

Woburn, Mass. - February 8, 2010 --[ASDWire]-- If the unconventional tactics of shadowy insurgent groups pose some of the biggest threats to unsuspecting US combat soldiers in the field, with their elusive networks defying detection by the analysts charged with tracking them, then two Department of Defense (DoD) contracts may help tip the scales back in the U.S. military's favor. Aptima, the Massachusetts-based R&D firm specializing in human-centered engineering, has been awarded two Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II contracts to develop IMPACTS, a training system for Marines to visually read and recognize cues to identify potential terrorists from amongst the general population, and BESTNET, a technology for helping military and intelligence analysts map these obscure adversarial networks, identifying the influential members and resources that are central to these groups' activities.


The two contracts, worth a combined $1.5 million, are made possible by the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Technology, which helps ensure the nation's small, high-tech, innovative businesses are included in federal government research and development. Aptima has pioneered the integration of social science and engineering to produce new knowledge and new technologies to solve the complex problems facing the military and intelligence communities.

Michael J. Paley, Aptima Executive Vice President observed, "IMPACTS and BESTNET, although very different, are the flipside of the same coin. Although one is focused on the micro level of individual behavior, and the other is focused on the macro level of how social groups function and operate, the common denominator in both is the need to understand the human element. Humans are the most variable and dynamic part of this equation, which is why rigorous research is applied from across wide-ranging domains - from cognitive, to social, to industrial psychology - when designing these tools and technologies."

The Behavioral Sciences in Action - IMPACTS
IMPACTS will help train combat soldiers with a critical skill set used by Marines in the field to survey the human landscape for potential insurgents and individuals of interest. Designed to augment the Marine's Combat Hunter program, IMPACTS' multi-media software will help soldiers read behavioral cues, detecting potential adversaries in non-combat, although potentially dangerous environments such as a village or urban setting. Using still and video imagery, the computer-based exercises develop perception and decision-making skills for Marines to quickly assess and identify threats from within the general population or certain social groups.

IMPACTS will include built-in diagnostics that measure trainee performance and provide feedback, helping to accelerate these recognition and detection skills before Marines enter into live Combat Hunter training, and as an ongoing program after. Incorporating the latest behavioral and scientific research, IMPACTS can emphasize and advance the most effective teaching methods used by instructors. Funded by the Office of Naval Research, IMPACTS will be used by the Marine School of Infantry-West at Camp Pendleton.

The Human Network - BESTNET
Although the US military holds dominance in technology and resources, it's most susceptible when attacked by small covert groups using unconventional and asymmetric tactics, avoiding head-on contact and detection. Aptima's development of BESTNET, the Behavior Signatures of Terrorist Networks system, will provide military and intelligence analysts with a tool(s) to rapidly and accurately identify and track the components that that make up terrorist networks - the individuals, organizations, activities, and places - and their relationships. Identifying these hard to define cells, which are often comprised of close-knit associations of family and friends, challenges normal intelligence gathering.

To achieve high decision accuracy under these severe information gaps, BESTNET integrates three technologies previously developed and validated by Aptima: an adversarial network and mission identification system to determine the dynamic state of the hostile operations and their supporting organization; a socio-cultural simulator that models and forecasts the reactions or hostile support in a particular scenario; and an organizational performance assessment tool to determine the adversarial actors and resources most critical to their operations. When completed, BESTNET will enhance the adversarial analysis process, reducing the time to develop intelligence estimates, increasing the accuracy of those estimates, and improving the impact of disruption plans on adversarial operations. BESTNET is funded by, and will be developed for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate.

Source : Aptima, Inc.