1. Geospatial Research Laboratory
Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
Martha Kiene
Division Chief
1 December 2016

2. Mission Slide 2 Innovative solutions for a safer, better world
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3. Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC): Geospatial Research Lab (GRL)
The Geospatial Research Lab is co-located with the Army Geospatial Center (AGC) in Alexandria, VA
Department of Defense
Department of Army
We are the research wing of the Corps of Engineers, made up of 7 labs distributed throughout the US. We’re headquartered in Vicksburg, MS, where 4 of the 7 ERDC labs are located. You can guess at the type of work done at the labs by reading their name. CHL does a lot of work to support the civil works community, which is what you typically think of when you hear “Corps of Engineers”….locks, dams, navigable waterways. The Environmental Lab is focused on fate and transport of chemicals….things like UXO…as well as environmental toxicology in order to help the Army be good stewards of the land resources we have. This allows ERDC to study the effects of new munitions on threatened and endangered species, as well as study the potential mobility and hazard of new military materials. The Geotechnical and Structures Lab gets to blow stuff up…they focus on force protection, which includes things like the Modular Protective System…a series of man-portable high-test concrete panels that can be rapidly erected to protect something like a command post. The Information Technology Lab houses the DoD HPC (High Performance Computing) Modernization Program, which is the group responsible for all the supercomputers in the DoD. And, through that lab, ERDC has access to supercomputer and other HPC facilities.
We work most closely with the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Center in New Hampshire, and with the Construction Engineering Research Lab in Illinois. CRREL has a wealth of experience in sensor and terrain phenomenology, which influences much of our remote sensing oriented R&D. CERL is our center-of-mass for socio-cultural expertise within ERDC. Following the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, it quickly became evident that we underestimated the degree to which sociocultural dynamics influenced and shaped military operations. In response to that need, the Army decided to invest in socio-cultural R&D. At the time, CERL had one of the larger concentrations of social scientists (Anthropologists) in the Army, due to their cultural work in their Lands and Heritage Conservation program. Over the past 10 years, this concentrations of folks has grown to include a variety of social scientists able to investigate the unique elements of human geography in military operations.
Geospatial Research Laboratory
US Army Corps
Of Engineers (USACE)

4. US Army Engineer Research & Development Center Business Areas
Military Engineering (ME)
Provides innovative technologies and capabilities to the Warfighter enabling force protection and maneuver.
Geospatial Research and Engineering (GRE)
Provides the data, analytic tools, information and decision framework capabilities to ensure superior situational awareness of the operational environment for the Warfighter.
GRL
CRREL
GSL
CHL
ITL
CERL EL
In addition to breaking down by lab, ERDC managers R&D by “Business Area”. ERDC has 4 Business Areas, 3 of which focus on military applications (GRE, ME, EQ/I). We fall under the GRE business area, which is directed by Dr. Davis, Dr. Fontanella, and the Lead TD – Ritch Rodebaugh
The labs acronyms in the middle are intended to reflect which labs serve which BAs. So, GRE is supported mainly by GRL, CRREL, and CERL. But, the Business areas are matrixed across the organization, so we can tap expertise in any of the 7 labs in order to get the best folks on the team to answer whatever the challenge is.
Civil Works (CW)
Contributes to the strength of the Nation by providing innovative and environmentally sustainable solutions to the Nation’s water resources challenges.
Environmental Quality & Installations (EQ&I)
Provides cutting edge solutions for Army installations, training ranges and contingency basing, particularly in the areas of environmental sustainability and energy security. 4

5. GRE’s Place in the Geospatial Ecosystem
Army Geospatial Center defines and helps implement the Army Geospatial Enterprise (AGE) through the Common Operating Environment (COE).
Geospatial Research and Engineering (GRE) addresses gaps and requirements identified through AGC touch points to Army Acquisition programs.
Engineer Research and Development Center & Geospatial Research and Engineering
Army Geospatial Center
Army Geospatial Enterprise Node
Army Programs of Record
TECDs
JCTDs
Industry
Army Staff
COE CEs
Program Managers / TRADOC Capability Managers
I wanted to take a minute and orient you to where GRL fits in the Geospatial Ecosystem. We’re up in the top left corner, and we focus mainly on requirements-based R&D. We have a very tight connection with the AGC…we’re physically located with them. This relationship allows us to leverage AGC (and vice versa) to bring R&D and acquisition much closer. For example, AGC has identified leads for each of the Computing Environments in the Common Operating Environment…data center, mounted, handheld, command post, sensor, etc. This allows AGC to reach all of the Army Programs of Record that have anything to do with geospatial data. So, GRL is able to work with the computing environment leads at AGC to figure out who to approach with a potential solution, when, how, and where. And, the computing environment leads are able to influence our R&D by giving us emerging requirements for the PoRs…or maybe just trends that they are able to spot. Both AGC and GRL have relationships with TRADOC through the Centers of Excellence…mostly the Intelligence Center of Excellence and the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence…and also through the TRADOC Capability Managers (TCMs). We deal mostly with TCG-Geospatial and TCM-Sensor Processing. In addition to relying on these agencies to facilitate transition, we also work to solicit input from TRADOC, Industry, and the Army acquisition community during our project development. This helps us stay oriented toward warfighter needs.
GRL has also been very successful in the past with executing JCTDs, and we are currently executing two Army Science and Technology Objectives (STOs)…ARTEMIS and MBPS.
GRE research transitioned
to Army Programs.
Programs shape GRE portfolio through identification of requirements, challenges, and gaps.
GRE R&D influences and shapes industry.
COE Computing Environment (CE)s provide the architecture for the AGE Node
Army Acquisition programs linked to GRE technology through AGC touch points.

6. Geospatial Research and Engineering (GRE) Overview
Geo-Enabled Computing Environments
Geospatial Intelligence
Human Geography
GEOINT Prototype Capabilities Remote Ground Terminal (RGT)
GRE addresses capability gaps in establishing a flexible and adaptive Army Geospatial Enterprise (AGE) and the supporting analytics and services enabling all Warfighting Functions with particular focus on Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield and Mission Command.
Implementing the AGE through a Standard and Sharable Geospatial Foundation (SSGF) and supporting analytics.
Geospatial capabilities for superior situational awareness; knowledge of the terrestrial impacts on all phases of unified land operations.
Knowledge of the theater environment including culture, terrain, climate, infrastructure, and demographics.
The GRE Business Area is divided into three thrust areas as reflected in the top row: geo-enabled computing environments, geospatial intelligence and human geography.
We understand that geospatial information is a cross-cutting capability, stretching across all warfighting functions. Our Research and Development strives to support all Soldiers, all users regardless of Service or echelon.
Geo-enabled computing environment: Under this thrust area our current work package strives to address mission planning by developing a planners enclave.
Geospatial Intelligence: This thrust area is our largest thrust area, addressing tactical decision aides to provide superior situational awareness for Soldiers at all levels. It includes efforts that focus on visualizing big data, and pushing that data forward whether products or foundational data for use on handheld devices, particularly in disconnected environments.
Human Geography: This areas is one that continues to grow in our portfolio and will continue to grow. We recognize as does the Army, the need to understand human influences, triggers and how these all come into play. We’re looking at climate in and where it will likely be a trigger for conflict or where the climate plays a role in instability. How do we leverage open source information to better understand the local populace, looking at sentiment and movement, or flow.
Lastly, this slide also highlights just a few of our many stakeholders. We’re working with numerous Centers of Excellence (COE’s), the intelligence community (IC) including NGA and have many industry partners, some unique like the security and exchange commission (SEC).
Warfighter
Labs/Centers
Industry
TRADOC
PEOs
Academia
CCMD

7. Geospatial Research and Engineering (GRE) Overview
Geo-Enabled Computing Environments
Geospatial Intelligence
Human Geography
GEOINT Prototype Capabilities Remote Ground Terminal (RGT)
Map Based Planning Services (MBPS) FY16-18 (STO-R)
Advanced LADAR for Terrain Acquisition and Ranging (ALTAR) FY16-18
Spatio-Temporal Reasoning and Introspection of Data and Embedded Relationships (STRIDER) FY16-17
Geospatial Analytics and Applications for Point Clouds (GEOAP) FY16-18
Geospatial Analysis at the Tactical Edge (GATE) FY16-17
Army Terrestrial Modeling and Intelligence System STO (ARTEMIS) FY16-18 (STO-D) .
Human-Infrastructure System Assessment for Military OPS FY15-16
Phase Zero Assessment of Urban Security Threats FY15-16
Climate Change
This slide captures our current work packages under each thrust area as previously described. Again, the majority of our efforts are focused on the GEOINT piece. However, we will continue to grow in the Human Geography space as well as the geo-enabled computing environments.
Warfighter
Labs/Centers
Industry
TRADOC
PEOs
Academia
CCMD

8. Research Technology and Development
POM New Directions
► The Arctic
► Infrastructure Protection and Revitalization
► Megacities
► Acquisition Alternative Analytics
► Anti Access/Aerial Denial
► Climate Change
► Computational Prototyping
Required Skillsets / Geospatial Technology Expertise
Fluorescence
Geographic Information Systems
Geospatial Data Generation and Management
Remote Sensing/Image Analysis
Surveying/GPS/Navigation
Terrain Reasoning & Awareness
Geospatial Enterprise Technologies
Geospatial Net-Centric Experimentation
Modeling and Mapping Complex Social Systems
Spatio-Temporal Reasoning and Numerical Analysis
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9. Questions Innovative solutions for a safer, better world
BUILDING STRONG®
Innovative solutions for a safer, better world