Web Page sponsor Oxley Developments
www.oxleygroup.com
————————————————————————
13 June 14. Searching for a better way to search. UK MoD scientists from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) are looking for new ways to carry out searches in wide areas through the use of gaming technology. Conducting a search of an area is a common and important task for military forces – from locating persons in distress, to catching people-smugglers and pirates through to identifying and locating enemy submarines. However, there are a number of factors such as geography, characteristics and behaviour of the target and the forces and equipment available to the searcher which can all contribute to the effectiveness of the search. Lt Jeannine Cooley, Royal Navy, who works alongside Dstl scientists developing new tactics at the Maritime Warfare Centre says: “Search is an extremely complex task and a search plan or strategy that functions well in one scenario may not work in another. For example a lost hiker would probably react differently to the sound of an approaching helicopter than a fugitive on the run!” In order to investigate ways to overcome these issues, researchers at Dstl are running a public competition with £27,000 worth of funding available to create a web-based game in which search scenarios can be established and played out. Dr Martin Fowler, Chief Scientific Advisor, Maritime Warfare Centre at HMS Collingwood, Fareham says: “In supporting this initiative, our aim is that this competition will provide tools to aid us in the further study of search tactics and problems. While we are coming at this from a defence perspective there are clear implications for civilian applications. So by opening the competition up to the public we hope to get some really innovative and exciting ideas to help us.” Once the competition is complete and the best game has been selected, the scientists at Dstl plan to eventually make the game publicly accessible online so that they can analyse the methods used by those playing the game to inform future approaches to search. Those wishing to find out more about the competition and apply can register online. The competition is open until 15 August 2014.
——————————————————————
Oxley Group Ltd
Oxley specialises in the design and manufacture of advanced electronic and electro-optic components and systems for air, land and sea applications within the military sector. Established in 1942, Oxley has manufacturing facilities in the UK and USA and enjoys representation worldwide. The company’s products include night vision and LED lighting, data capture systems and electronic components. Oxley has pioneered the development of night vision compatible lighting. It offers a total package incorporating optical filters, equipment modification, cockpit and external lighting along with fleet wide upgrade services including engineering, installation, support, maintenance and training. The company’s long experience of manufacturing night vision lighting and LED indicators, coupled with advances in LED technology, has enabled it to develop LED solutions to replace incandescent and fluorescent lighting in existing applications as well as becoming the lighting option of choice in new applications such as portable military hospitals, UAV control stations and communication shelters.
———————————————————————-