A GIS‐based Vehicle Mobility Estimator for Operational Contexts

Abstract

A vehicle mobility estimator has been developed to produce decision aid maps for projecting civil or military forces on operational theatres. Based on the exploitation of classical geographical sources (e.g. digital elevation models, optical images, and vector databases) and thematic sources (e.g. climate, meteorological, pedological and land cover databases), the system computes speed maps for different kinds of vehicles moving both on‐road and off‐road. Such computations are realized through a ground‐vehicle interaction module that estimates the vehicle performance from experimental results, numerical simulations and empirical relationships. The system's architecture is built using a GIS interface that manages the data, the computation and the presentation layers. An operational version of this tool has been tested and validated on several operational theatres in France and in northern Africa. The results show good agreement between the predicted mobility performance of various vehicles and those observed on the field. A case study is presented to illustrate the mobility maps and demonstrate their relevance in the decision‐making chain depending on different climate contexts. A short application to itinerary optimization is presented as a promising future application.

Physical-geographic factors of terrain trafficability of military vehicles according to Western World methodologies

“…All models of vehicle terrain trafficability want to reproduce (in different ways) how overall ground elements slow down the vehicle in relation to its maximum predicted speed (Ahlvin and Haley, 1992). The Heuristic Approach (Waldock and Corne, 2011) of trafficability modelling based on the dynamic mathematical models of the Army Material Command Mobility Model (AMC) and the NATO Reference Mobility Model (NRMM) (Hohmann et al, 2013) were limited by their many input parameters and a multitude mathematical formulas, which made it more difficult for the end users. The invention and development of new computer technologies in the late 1980s enabled implementation of mathematical models into GIS.…”

“…In contrast to mathematically-oriented models such as NRMM, models with a stochastic approach emerged (Lessem et al, 1992). Birkel (2003) recommended revision of models used for military purposes by analysing the potential development of Modular Semi-Automated Forces (MoDSAF), Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT), Warfighter's Simulation (WAR-SIM), NRMM I, and NRMM II (Hohmann et al, 2013). Their main purpose is to train drivers using computer simulations representing a virtual reality of possible situations on the ground (Affleck et al, 2009).…”

“…The term "terrain trafficability" is used to determine the limiting factors that affect the mobility of vehicles outside the road infrastructure (Production of Cross-Country, 1959;Grabau, 1964;Military Geographic Intelligence, 1972;Schreier and Lavkulich, 1978;Donlon and Forbus, 1999;Wong, 2001;Saarilahti, 2002;Birkel, 2003;Rybanský, 2003;Jones et al, 2004;Gumoś, 2005;Kourdian, 2009;Hofmann et al, 2013;Hohmann et al, 2013).…”

The Analytic Hierarchy Process in GIS-Driven Military Operation Base Selection: A Case Study in Sri Lanka

“…Establishing pairwise comparison matrices for each decision alternative to each criterion Typically, a scale of 1-9 is used as this number of levels represents what is thought to be the practical limit of what a person can realistically be expected to organize into a hierarchy of importance [16]. The standard preference scale for pairwise comparisons used here is shown in Table 3 below.…”

“…This research presents a case study of a location analysis procedure that is an integral part of military intelligence operations on the battlefield during the base selection stage. Site selection using GIS is a well-established use of geospatial data [5,[14][15][16][17]. Armed forces use GIS in cartography, combat area management, military deployment, intelligence, and terrain analysis, allowing decision makers and commanders to obtain useful data and information.…”