Terrestrial Geospatial Remote Assessment for Ingress Locations (Terrestrial GRAIL)

Abstract

The Terrestrial Geospatial Remote Assessment for Ingress Locations (GRAIL) portion of the Army Terrestrial Environmental Modeling and Intelligence System Science and Technology Objective-Research (ARTEMIS STO-R) program was developed to use remote methods of terrain analysis to search for areas suitable for vehicle or aircraft maneuverability, based on slope, roughness, vegetation, soil type, and wetness, and to also perform direct classification of imagery based on soil strength. The product of the GRAIL project was a software program entitled GRAIL Tools. Using a series of filters, GRAIL Tools first eliminates areas of unsuitable slope, land use, obstacles, and vegetation. The algorithms for these filters, using both unsupervised and supervised classification approaches, were applied and trained by a limited amount of ground truth strength measurements to improve GRAIL Tools' site selection capabilities. GRAIL Tools then searches for sites that meet geometric criteria for landing and drop zones, the final result being a map of potential landing and drop zones superimposed over satellite imagery. The first generation of GRAIL Tools has proven capable of identifying austere landing and drop zones using remote assessment techniques. GRAIL Tools has been integrated in to the U.S. Army's Situational Awareness Geospatially Enabled (SAGE) software platform. DISCLAIMER: The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. All product names and trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners. The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents.

Automated detection of austere entry landing zones: A “GRAIL Tools” validation assessment

“…Presently, austere entry landing zone (LZ) and drop zone (DZ) identification and assessment is determined using on‐site observations that place both personnel and operation planning at risk (Shoop et al, ). To ameliorate these issues, the Geospatial Remote Assessment for Ingress Locations (GRAIL) Tools software was developed to facilitate the process of remotely locating austere entry LZs and DZs for military applications (Shoop & Wieder, ).…”