Looking to the Future - Plan Jericho

Air Force's Plan Jericho Disruptive Innovation team is taking mission control operations to the people with virtual reality.

Despite the technological leaps since the space program of the 1950s, the data available for decision-making in control rooms has largely remained unchanged, and the decision-makers still rely on being in a specific location.

Wing Commander Alex Gibbs, from the Jericho Disruptive Innovation team, said he felt sure there was a smarter way of working.

“Instead of sending our people to concrete bunkers around the country, what if we were able to provide them with the information, they need to make quick, informed decisions, wherever they may be?” Wing Commander Gibbs said.

It was this question that led himi and a team of experts to develop a powerful virtual operations room using Microsoft's HoloLens 2 headset – providing an augmented reality view of the world.

“We can project a hologram of the battlespace in front of the user,” Wing Commander Gibbs said.

“Users can quickly understand where all the various pieces are – for example aircraft, drones, elements on the ground – and they can make decisions at what we call ‘the speed of relevance’.”

HoloLens supports multiple levels of data and brings together different live feeds and internal applications, presenting them to the user in a personalised, clever and simple way.

The team currently uses data from sensors, 3D terrain images and air-space boundaries to allow the HoloLens user to see everything on the ground, in the air, and in space. But there are other possibilities.

“The data that we can plug into HoloLens is really endless,” Wing Commander Gibbs said.

“It is a very very, flexible system.”

The team is using Microsoft’s Azure cloud-based infrastructure to support sensors, data and users anywhere in the world.

Flexibility is the key benefit to this innovation.

“The most important thing is that it can be used anywhere. The user can be in an aircraft, in a tent, or on a ship,” Wing Commander Gibbs said.

The applications for the system are also limitless and it has a further benefit: substantial cost savings.

Inn addition to saving money spent on the real estate, computers, monitors, and pipes needed for a

Virtual reality is providing a new way of looking at battlespaces

traditional mission control room, the HoloLens itself costs only $5000 per headset and is light and easy to carry around.

Phase one of the project was successfully completed at Williamtown last year.

“We are now in phase two where we are rolling it out for every airbase in Australia, with an improved user interface and all the lessons learned from phase one,” Wing Commander Gibbs said.

“It’s the way Jericho Disruptive Innovation likes to run projects in roughly six month blocks.

“We try to do things in small chunks so that we can decide: ‘Yes, this is a winner’ or: ‘Okay, maybe we need to adjust the way we’re approaching this’.”

The HoloLens project has already won the support of Head of Air and Space Capability Air Vice Marshal Catherine Roberts.

“This is what a future, agile Air Force looks like,” Air Vice Marshal Roberts said.

“We’re taking data to the people rather than people to the data."

“It’s the kind of enhanced capability we can achieve when we break down traditional mindsets and models.”

Jericho Disruptive Innovation has partnered with the Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG) innovation team and Telstra for the project.

CIOG has provided the critical enabling infrastructure, such as the Azure cloud computing platform, and facilitated the ground-breaking information communications technology pieces.

Telstra, which has developed HoloLens applications for several major Australian companies, is doing the software development for the HoloLens device and the cloud infrastructure.

The project team is using agile methodology for software development and collaborating with the air traffic control community, the Security Forces Committee, and air crew to bring the best of their combined knowledge and expertise to the virtual operations room concept.

As a world-leading initiative, the team is getting specialised support from Microsoft.

If you have a disruptive idea or innovation, you can submit it directly to plan.jericho@defence.gov.au

The secret’s out

Defence Bank marks RAAF 100 years

Chief of Air Force Intent, Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld, AO, DSC said 2021 is a momentous year for the Royal Australian Air Force. “It’s one in which we celebrate our 100th year of service to the Australian people.” To mark 100 years of RAAF – the secret’s out. Australia’s Defence Bank has just announced the launched of a special-edition Visa Debit card with a commemorative design. And the secret’s also out about a competition where Defence Bank members could take home an actual piece of aviation history. Let’s start with the special-edition, commemorative debit card; it’s certainly all dressed up to mark the occasion. In a few years, it’ll be a much treasured and sought-after piece of memorabilia. In the meantime, Defence Bank says the debit card is an easy way to use your own money─anytime, anywhere─at more than 7,000 ATMs Australia-wide. The card lets you manage your own money through the award-winning Defence Bank app, including using digital wallet to make payWave transactions from Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, Google and Samsung. And there’s no waiting – with secure and convenient Quick Cards, you receive a digital card to use until your actual special-edition card arrives. Defence Bank CEO David Marshall said the bank is in the privileged

David Marshall, CEO Defence Bank

position of serving those who protect us. “We are a bank – what we commit to on behalf of our members hardly compares to what people in Defence are asked to commit to,” said David Marshall. “However, our unwavering bond and loyalty to our members will never be questioned.” Defence Bank has a few years to go before they can celebrate their 100th birthday, but they do have 45 years of putting members first, through thick and thin. Defence Bank’s people-led, technology-enabled approach keeps banking simpler, not bigger. “New members switch to us from big banks because we offer the same products but also better service, making it easier to bank with us’’ said David. And it’s hardly a secret by now (more like the talk of the town) about Defence Bank giving treasured pieces of aviation history to mark the RAAF celebrations. Current and new members associated with the RAAF will go into the draw to win limited-edition AF100 centenary watches, each containing an actual piece of aviation history from either the Caribou (DHC-4) aircraft #A4-208 or the first F/A-18A Hornet fighter jet. It really is a competition to talk about. Here’s to the RAAF’s next 100 years,” said David.

100 Year Anniversary watches to be won.

Scan the QR code or visit our website for full details.

Special edition

defencebank.com.au 1800 033 139

AF100 Visa Debit card.

To celebrate the 100 Year Anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force, we will launch our special edition Defence Bank AF100 Visa Debit card on the 1st of June.

Scan the QR code or visit our website for full details.