Intuitive Policy Specification for Optimized Flow of Asynchronous C3I transmission in Operations (IPSO FACTO)

摘要

We address the problem of allocating scarce communications resources in a military wide area network so that the information flows best support mission objectives. IPSO FACTO enables commanders to specify an information policy that guides automated allocation of communication resources to specific information requests. We have developed a formal mathematical model of information policy, implemented this model in software, and assessed the value of policy to resource allocation through a series of simulation experiments. We found that an explicit policy can indeed improve the total value of information conveyed in network overload conditions. However, specifying this policy is extremely time consuming. We describe a task-based, semi-automated approach to policy creation that generates policy as a side effect of mission planning. In this approach, a hierarchical mission plan is constructed from task templates; each template carries information policy elements to support the task. As the templates are arranged into a task hierarchy, the policy elements are merged to form a complete policy.