Communications of the ACM
Army Researchers Study Computer, Human Networks
U.S. Army researchers are exploring the interactions between individuals that form the basis of computer and social networks in an effort to find feasible warfighting and military solutions. The Army Research Laboratory's Alexander Kott says that today's soldiers, despite being proficient in network technology, interact with people as well as computer systems. Kott notes that these human networks are linked by intricate social and coordinative connections that can be difficult to navigate, pointing out that troops must frequently contend with cultural, ideological, and adversarial issues in addition to negotiating between civilians and local regimes.
The Army is seeking a guarantee of network reliability by investigating disruption-tolerant networking, which will be an important component in future Army networks, according to Robert Cole with the Army's Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center.
The need for stable and reliable communications underlies the Army's hesitation to adapt commercial technologies such as cellular communication, which could be weakened on the battlefield in spite of recent smartphone innovations. "The Army has been investing [in] research and developing the mobile, ad-hoc networks where every radio on the battlefield is known in the network and you are not reliant on a cell phone tower or one node," Kott says.
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