Rapid Military Infrastructure Damage Assessment is now Possible with Latest Data Tools and a New Approach

A base is only as good as the infrastructure that supports it. When a piece of infrastructure is broken down or not operating at peak efficiency, it can threaten the whole organization. As a result, the ability to monitor and quickly assess and repair any damage is critical to mission success.

This is easier said than done. The Department of Defense manages hundreds of thousands of buildings and structures across millions of acres of land worldwide, many of which are exposed to extreme weather elements. Keeping track of and maintaining everything can be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and at times, incredibly dangerous. Constrained budgets, expanding missions, and the unique nature of each individual base only make this challenge more complex.

New technologies can help. By using innovative data collection platforms, multispectral sensors, cloud computing, and advanced analytics, government and military leaders and organizations can quickly and more efficiently gain the insights they need to complete objective, data-driven evaluations, and thus, make better decisions. When used together, these tools can modernize the 1950s-era damage assessment methods that are currently used.

For example, autonomous vehicles equipped with infrared sensors can safely surveil large and hard-to-reach locations more easily and at a lower cost than a standard team may be able to. This allows for more inspections to be completed quicker, and data collected to be repeatable, measurable, and most importantly, reliable. When combined with contemporary analytics technology and strong communications skills, leaders will be able to more accurately and cost-effectively target areas for improvement.

Read the viewpoint to learn more about this topic.