SBIR-STTR Award

The Phase I effort will design an urban feature digital database and demonstrate a cost-effective implementation that will support military operations over urban terrain (MOUT). Phase II will assemble a PC-based prototype and produce a sample data set over an urban area to validate the approach. The proposed program will join three key elements required for meeting the objectives. The first will be the application of urban terrain zone (UTZ) classification for assessing MOUT characteristics by urban areas and for forming a spatial organizational framework. The second element will use building construction attribute classification for understanding MOUT issues at the individual structure level. The final component will extract and link urban features from imagery and other data sources by using comercial off-the-shelf hardware and software for mapping/imagery processing and database management. The proposed approach elimates the extensive storage requirements of raster imagery by adopting the UTZ representation method and liking building attribute/MOUT feature databases to achieve significant reductions in storage requirements. This efficiency of representation should enable direct database access from the battlefield.

Benefits:
The proposed approach eliminates the extensive storage requirements of raster imagery by adopting the UTZ representation method and linking building attribute/MOUT feature databases to achieve significant reductions in storage requirements. This efficiency of representation should enable direct data base access from the battlefield.

Keywords:
MOUT Urban Terrain Zones Urban Feature Databases Building Construct Attributes Urban Warfare

In Phase I, Terra Research successfully formulated a modular architecture for an urban feature digital database to support military operations over urbanized terrain (MOUT), based on urban terrain zone (UTZ) deliminations of built-up areas, and demonstrated a prototype database. Phase II will develop a layered approach for streamlining the process of UTZ-based urban terrain feature database preparation of limited access or denied areas with data that might reasonably be expected to be available. The approach will handle satellite and aerial imagery of varying resolution and accommodate constraints on preparation time and resources. Level 1 provides a synoptic description of the area of interest; Level 2 depicts key areas at higher resolution; and Level 3 addresses key area details. The preparation methodology will be formulated on a commercially available geographic information system (GIS) in the course of constructing sample databases on the Atlanta, GA and Gettysburg, PA areas. Imagery recognition keys will be developed along with identification of training requirements for terrain analysts. Successful completion of Phase II will establish the viability of the UTZ-based modular database concept and provide the basis for follow-on Phase III activities with the Army as well as many other application areas.

Benefits:
Successful completion of Phase II will provide the design basis for Army Phase II implementation of a modular, UTZ-based urban feature database and production of datase to support MOUT. Section H of this proposal lists 35 applications for the following areas: (1) D0D - US Army (Field), (2) DoD - US Army Corps of Engineers, (3) DoD - Other Organizations, (4) Government - Law Enforcement/Counter Terrorism, (5) Government General, and (6) Commercial.

Keywords:
MOUT Urban Terrain Zones Urban Feature Databases Building Construct Attributes Urban Warfare