Lockheed Martin’s Hydra Fusion Tools is the Answer to Big Data for UAS
With UAS technologies continuing to grow and evolve, there’s always a need for a central control system that is capable of handling large amounts of data. Lockheed Martin believes that it has created that system, with the development of its Hydra Fusion Tools.
Billed as “the answer to big data,” and with operability on laptops without the need for internet access, the Hydra Fusion Tools allows its controller to see a common operational picture that includes a variety of maps, images, videos and intelligence. With the ability to generate 3-D imagery in real time as a vehicle flies, Lockheed Martin claims the system is an industry first.
According to John Molberg, business development manager, Lockheed Martin CDL Systems, the impetus to create the system started from discussions with Lockheed Martin’s customers. When speaking to these customers, the company found they had concerns about keeping track of important intelligence information when operating UAS for long periods of time.
After these conversations, Lockheed Martin CDL Systems began developing the Hydra.
“We commenced development of Hydra after talking to our UAV customers who already use our technology to fly unmanned aircraft,” Molberg tells Unmanned Systems. “They reported that on long UAV flights [upwards of 8 hours], the operators would start to miss critical intelligence.”
“Given that most of our customers need real-time actionable intelligence, the instantaneous nature of our offering was a founding requirement, for which we are the first in the world to deliver.”
The Hydra Fusion Tools has been in development for two years, and is currently completing beta trials. It has two main features that make it stand out as the answer to big data for UAS.
The first feature is its immersive 3-D world, which allows all data feeds to be put in one place where users can monitor all of the feeds after they are fused into a homogenous display.
“This in itself relieves the users of the 'pinhole' effect whereby they are forced to stare at the world through a narrow field of view camera (analogous to driving while looking through a straw),” Molberg says.
Its second feature is its ability to create a three-dimensional picture from a two-dimensional data source.
Molberg explains the benefit of this feature by saying, “this feature allows image analysts and UAV operators alike to get a live, wide area view of a target of interest, without having to continuously stare at the video feed.”
The Hydra Fusion Tools is especially impressive when handling multiple unmanned systems, as it can show these systems in a single, homogenous display, thanks to Lockheed Martin’s Panterra Mapping Engine, which is a 3-D world capable of creating the entire planet in differing levels of detail. The Panterra uses a level of detail algorithm to optimize the display of all data to the user, giving the user the ability to see only what they want to see.
The Panterra is also usable during flight, and according to Molberg, it can create a video game-like environment for an entity’s UAS operations.
The Hydra Fusion Tools was showcased at Unmanned Warrior in the United Kingdom in late 2016. During the exercise, the Hydra was connected to Lockheed Martin’s Indago UAS. During its low level missions, high resolutions videos of “targets” were created and fed into the Hydra. The Hydra then created instant 3-D models, which were then sent back to headquarters for review.
During its demonstration, the video feed from the ground control station was also connected into the ACER combat management system operated by the Royal Navy.
Overall, with all of its responsibilities during Unmanned Warrior, the Hydra performed admirably, Molberg says.
“Simply put, Hydra successfully created live 3-D models of complex terrain for which Navy leaders could plan missions,” he says.
According to Molberg, the Army, Navy, and law enforcement could all use this system, as well as commercial customers such as pipeline companies, mining companies, and UAS service providers.
While the system is impressive in its current form, Molberg says there are a number of things that Lockheed Martin is looking to improve, including the 3-D reconstruction quality, and the means of acquiring data, as well as putting it out.
“Hydra is evolving weekly, through our agile software development process,” Molberg says. “Not only does this show our commitment to the product, but existing and new customers will have access to a wide range of new features going forward showcasing the value for money we offer in our product.”
