To improve the effectiveness of treaty inspections, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Non-Proliferation and National Security tasked the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory to cooperatively develop a portable customized Geographic Information System. The system, called Team Leader, uses an ArcView interface to integrate Global Positioning System, multi-media, and advanced communication technologies to provide remote users with on-line access to vital data needed during treaty inspections. Team Leader provides the capability to access previous inspection data (e.g. maps, aerial photographs, reports, photographs, equipment information, and voice notes) for fast and efficient briefings prior to the inspection and for real time data retrieval during the inspection. An inspector can use Team Leader to capture positional data, digital photographs, voice notes, equipment information, and text reports georegistered to the inspector's position or a selected feature in real-time during the inspection. Inspection teams can employ Team Leader to communicate with each other, display inspection team positions, automatically send new data, and transfer requested data between teams. Team Leader is implemented on two different hardware platforms, a Suitcase Unit using a laptop PC for on-site inspections and a Personal Unit using a belt-mounted PC with a miniaturized "heads-up" monocular display for in-facility inspections. Although Team Leader was created to support treaty inspections, it is also directly applicable to a wide range of field-based data collection applications, including environmental field collection, surveillance activities, and utilities management.
As the use of nuclear power has increased throughout the world, the task of regulatory agencies to ensure facilities are being used safely and for peaceful purposes has become more important and difficult. Increasingly, inspectors are required to visit a variety of sites throughout the world with little notice. To compound the problem, these sites are typically large complex facilities that must be inspected under tight time constraints and, sometimes, chaotic conditions. Inspectors must perform a variety of difficult tasks including comparing findings with previous inspections, capturing new data, coordinating activities of multiple teams in the field, and, after the inspection, preparing detailed reports.
To make the treaty inspector's job more effective, in 1994 the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Non-Proliferation and National Security initiated a research project to develop and customize computer capabilities to facilitate the inspection process. The DOE selected the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) to create a system, called Team Leader, that would allow inspectors to efficiently access data about past inspections, collect data in real-time during the inspection, capture locational information, and provide local wide-area communication capabilities to coordinate activities between inspection teams. An important requirement was that Team Leader be created using an open architecture so it could be applied to a variety multi-team field-based data collection efforts. In 1995, a prototype Team Leader system was developed and implemented on two different hardware configurations. In 1996 and 1997, the prototype will be operationalized and its functionality enhanced. This paper describes the development and resulting functionality of Team Leader and discusses future applications for the system.
The requirement definitions phase of the Team Leader project involved establishing an understanding of tasks performed during inspections and those associated with other field-based missions. This was accomplished through focused discussions with treaty inspectors. Team Leader's basic requirements were established and include the following:
Team Leader was implemented on two hardware configurations - the Suitcase Unit and the Personal Unit - to provide capabilities for different inspection scenarios. PC-based technology was chosen because of its common usage, flexibility, and power. A GPS with PCMCIA data input, a spread spectrum radio-frequency modem, and voice recording hardware are included with both units. Peripheral devices, including a color digital camera and bar code scanner, can be attached to both units based on inspection needs.
The Team Leader Suitcase Unit (Figure 1) includes a 486 laptop computer with 32 MB RAM, a 1.2 GB hard disk, and a CD ROM housed in a suitcase along with the peripheral data collection devices. The suitcase is customized with external attachments for the peripheral devices that connect to the computer's I/O ports. Depending on mission requirements, the suitcase could hold additional support hardware such as a portable printer, scanner, or digitizer. The Team Leader Suitcase Unit will be used for on-site inspections, perimeter inspections, or more remote field collection activities.
The Team Leader Personal Unit (Figure 2) is being developed on a state-of-the-art miniature computer called the Mobile Assistant� produced by Computer Products and Services, Inc., Fairfax, VA. The computer is a 486 with SL 2/50, 16 MB RAM, an internal 540 MB hard drive, and 2 PCMCIA slots. The computer and battery are worn on a belt, along with peripheral data collection hardware. The unit uses a head-mounted miniaturized "heads-up" VGA monocular monochrome screen for display. Mouse controls on the unit allow for user interaction along with a detachable keyboard. The Team Leader Personal Unit will be used for inspections performed in the field on foot or inside of a facility.
A variety of operating systems were investigated, including Windows NT, Windows `95, and OS2. Windows `95 was selected for Team Leader's operating system because it supported the majority of the hardware peripherals required by Team Leader in a multi-tasking environment. To provide the major integrating software component of Team Leader, ArcView (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., Redlands, CA) was selected because of its flexibility, customizability, and predominance in the GIS industry. Automation of data collection and additional basic functionalities were provided by the creation of Avenue and C++ software programs. Where possible, inexpensive shareware software was used to provide additional capabilities. An example of Team Leader's user interface is shown in Figure 3.
Two types of functionality have been developed for Team Leader - field functionality and reporting functionality. Team Leader allows field teams to access one system to perform the primary tasks of gathering and analyzing information in the field, communicating with other teams, and creating reports that document their findings. Team Leader's development focused on creating the field functionality while reporting functionality was provided by commercial products. Major field functions developed for Team Leader include data communication, locational information, ancillary data capture, and enhancement and customization of ArcView.
The prototype Team Leader, will allow up to two field teams to capture real-time geopositional information and exchange digital data. When the GPS has a positional lock, an ArcView button will be enabled to allow a team to track their position. If remote position locations are available, another ArcView button will be enabled. This locational information is automatically sent between teams. The current and remote team locations can be displayed on a reference map in real time and date, time, team identification, and sensor data will be captured. If the team walks beyond the extent of the ArcView display, the display will automatically pan so the team's position will be in the center of the screen. Voice communication can be used to coordinate data collection activities. When one team collects new information such as photographs or text, the other team is automatically notified that new data are available for transfer.
Team Leader stores and manages comprehensive datasets and associated ancillary information. Datasets include geopositionally, rectified, and registered air-photo and satellite images, geopositionally registered rasterized maps, previous inspection paths, and digital land cover features. Ancillary information is comprised of multi-media data such as text files, digital photographs, sound clips or notes, short video clips, and equipment database information referenced to digital features. Multiple types of ancillary data may be associated with one feature. Ancillary data are accessed using an improved hot link tool that will display a menu of data associated with a feature. ACDSee (ACD Systems, Arlington, TX), a shareware Windows image viewer, was incorporated into Team Leader's improved hot link capabilities to allow access of JPEG files. The user can add ancillary information based on their current location, an existing feature, or by selecting a position on the map to attach the data. The user will be prompted for the type of data they are adding and storage information, such as file directories, descriptions, and file names, will be automatically generated. The user can alter the default settings then acquire the data. Other data on the system could include reference materials, such as rules, regulations, inspection protocols, and digital copies of forms that would be accessed through commercial software. CD-ROM technology is used to store large, static datasets.
The reporting functionality of Team Leader allows users to prepare required documentation. Reporting tasks that can be performed with Team Leader include preparing field scheduling plans, creating reports and memos, completing required forms, printing blank forms for distribution, and creating expense and other business reports. Important remote communication capabilities, such as accessing remote computers, fax, and email, are also provided by Team Leader. Teams will be able to review data collection efforts, examine historical missions, and plan current missions based on newly gathered information.
The hardware and basic functionalities of the Team Leader prototype will be enhanced to create an integrated multi-functional system. The basic capabilities, such as additional I/O ports and increased miniaturization, of both hardware systems are planned. The Suitcase Unit will be repackaged to be more efficient and solar panels will be added to provide an alternative power source. Internal storage capacity and RAM will be increased on the Personal Unit and, hopefully, a CD ROM will be added to the system in the near future. Other enhancements being investigated include the addition of new user interface hardware such as touch- or pen-based displays. Developers will also evaluate the possibility of incorporating thin-film battery technology into the hardware to reduce weight and extend battery length.
Enhancements are planned for Team Leader's communications and locational capabilities. Because the number of simultaneous field teams needs to be expanded, the communications system will be upgraded to a wireless multi-user network that will support up to eight inspection teams. The ArcView locational display functions will be re-engineered to reflect this new capability. To enhance the capability to access remote data, cellular telephones will be incorporated into Team Leader. Accuracy of the locational system will be enhanced by use of differential GPS. In-facility locational information is being developed under a separate DOE task and will be incorporated into Team Leader when it becomes available.
New data acquisition functionalities, including the capture of video data which will enhance its capabilities for surveillance applications, will be added to the system. To expand the uses of Team Leader to environmentally based field efforts, a variety of on-site sensors will be incorporated into the system. Detectors, such as environmental sensors and radiation detectors, will allow inspectors to automatically tag their position with sensor readouts and change the symbol based on sensor readouts. Field spectrometers will be added to aid ground-truthing activities associated with remote sensing data capture.
A new development effort is the creation of Team Leader Smart Sensors. Smart Sensors are either stationary or mobile data collection units integrated with Team Leader. Smart Sensors would contain a chemical or radiological sensor, a digital communication device, and, if mobile, a GPS unit that could send data automatically to a central Team Leader system. Smart Sensors could be left unattended or attached to a moving object to collect data during a field effort.
Even though Team Leader is still being developed, it already has been a highly successful project. Team Leader has proven effective in integrating data collection, communication, and locational technologies into a multi-tasking PC-based system. Through Team Leader, new generic ArcView capabilities, such as multiple data links to features and automated data capture, have been developed. Team Leader has explored and expanded applications for the emerging technology of highly mobile miniaturized computers. Finally, although Team Leader was initially developed to support treaty verification activities, the system may have its largest market in other applications, such as environmental field collection efforts, emergency response situations, or special operations missions. Potential applications for Team Leader are still being discovered and will continue to increase as Team Leader's functionality is enhanced.
This project was made possible by the Department of Energy's Office of Non-Proliferation and National Security and the continuing support of our sponsors at the Office of Research and Development. A major contributor to the project was Dr. Aaron K. Andrews, a post-doctoral candidate at PNNL. Dr. Andrews was instrumental in creating the interface between ArcView and the peripheral data collection devices and acquired much of the data for the demonstration database. Other PNNL staff who contributed to the project are the Project Manager Gordon Dudder, Group Leader Karen Steinmaus, and Remote Sensing Group members George Wukelic, Gregg Petrie, Brian Moon, Alex Stephan, and Associated Western Universities student Elisabeth Allen. The RSL staff who participated in the creation of Team Leader are Mark Whitehead and Steve Geherty.
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