30 Sep 2021

Accelerating the Tactical Decision Process with High-Performance Computing (HPC) on the Edge: Motivation, Framework, and Use Cases

Abstract: Managing the ever-growing volume and velocity of data across the battlefield is a critical problem for warfighters. Solving this problem will require a fundamental change in how battlefield analyses are performed. A new approach to making decisions on the battlefield will eliminate data transport delays by moving the analytical capabilities closer to data sources. Decision cycles depend on the speed at which data can be captured and converted to actionable information for decision making. Real-time situational awareness is achieved by locating computational assets at the tactical edge. Accelerating the tactical decision process leverages capabilities in three technology areas: (1) High-Performance Computing (HPC), (2) Machine Learning (ML), and (3) Internet of Things (IoT). Exploiting these areas can reduce network traffic and shorten the time required to transform data into actionable information. Faster decision cycles may revolutionize battlefield operations. Presented is an overview of an artificial intelligence (AI) system design for near-real-time analytics in a tactical operational environment executing on co-located, mobile HPC hardware. The report contains the following sections, (1) an introduction describing motivation, background, and state of technology, (2) descriptions of tactical decision process leveraging HPC problem definition and use case, and (3) HPC tactical data analytics framework design enabling data to decisions.