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Every week, DARPA seems to be coming out with new innovations that will fundamentally change the way we gather intelligence and deal with the enemy on the battlefield. Last week, we covered DARPA’s new innovations that allow U.S. military helicopters to pinpoint enemy fire coming from the ground. And, this week, we found a story about DARPA developing a new system that would use complex algorithms and advanced computing techniques to essentially replace HUMINT when it comes to collecting on-the-ground intelligence. In addition, DARPA’s “Rapid Eye” caught our attention as well, which based on placing a folding drone inside the nose cone of an intercontinental ballistic missile. This folding drone will then be launched and can reach a distant target within an hour. To read more DARPA news, and check out a video of “Rapid Eye,” we recommend that you check out the rest of this post.

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The editorial staff of got geoint? was fortunate enough to secure a podcast with Mr. Martin C. Faga, former Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Mr. Faga is a board member of GeoEye as well as the retired president and chief executive officer of the MITRE Corp. He was also formerly the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space. Mr. Faga shared with us his key insights and learnings from the 2010 International Commercial Remote Sensing Symposium that took place earlier this month.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post from got geoint? We hope everyone had a a chance to unwind this weekend and are ready to kick it into full gear this week. As always we have compiled all the actionable news stories you need to kick off the week. Of course, we came across a Seattle Post story about the report about UFOs and the CIA. So, we admit…it may not be an “actionable” news story, but we could not pass up including it in this week’s post. As we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on. Happy Monday!

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Welcome once again to the Friday’s Food for Thought post on got geoint? My how the weeks fly by…seems like yesterday the east coast was blanketed in 3+ feet of snow. And now spring is upon us. Enough weather talk. Let’s get down to business. Do you ever have the feeling that “where is the new black”? Location-based applications are everywhere and are creeping into every aspect of our lives. And, with the Where 2.0 Conference happening next week, we had to make this week’s theme all about “where.” Of course scroll down to enjoy a classic Beck tune from his groundbreaking 1996 album O’Delay. So, you ask “where it’s at”? Where is where it’s at.

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Word of caution to our enemies: you may want to think twice about shooting a gun at a U.S. military helicopter as it flies overhead. According to DARPA Director Dr. Regina Dugan, DARPA is developing the technology that “would make it very dangerous to shoot at U.S. forces — because the first shot may very well be the adversary’s last.” What is this technology? DARPA is developing a new system called HALTT (Helicopter Alert and Threat Termination), which is a hostile-fire indicator that would warn the pilot of the gun fire attack. More importantly, it will determine the actual point of origin of the shot. Basically, HALTT will be able to detect the acoustic “crack” of a bullet as it passes through the air. It would then indicate the shooter’s position. From there, it is up to the pilot to neutralize the enemy. As always, DARPA is on the cutting edge. Read more about HALTT here.

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We have often said that GEOINT can be used for pretty much anything — even for ski resorts. That is correct. We came across a press release about a 360 degree video mapping application for ski resorts. A company called SlopeViews announced the beta release of OnSnow, a new virtual tour application that allows ski resorts to showcase their ski runs, lifts, and base village in 360° street view style. OnSnow features full motion video, and integrates the interactive trail maps commonly used by ski resorts. Okay. So, we all know that many resorts offer the 360 degree camera of their resorts, but it sounds like OnSnow takes it to the next level. Now, if only ski season was not coming to a close, then the timing of this announcement would have been perfect. Read the full press release here.

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With FOSE 2010 happening this week in Washington, DC, there is no shortage of government technology news happening. Of course, we like to sift through all the news a find the interesting tidbits that relate to the GEOINT community. We came across a Fed News Radio interview with Jim Whitehead, Division Chief of External Operations at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Mr. Whitehead discusses the results of his study of IT spending at agencies. The study compares IT spending between agencies and private-sector companies. He also found that civilian federal agencies, like top corporations, spend significant portions of their technology funds on the infrastructure that supports the rest of their operations. Check out the Fed News Radio interview with Mr. Whitehead here.

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As many of our got geoint? readers know, our editor team embraces anything that has to do with GEO-location, which often extends beyond the defense and intelligence arenas. This is why David Carr’s recent NY Times column about digital location and the SXSW conference caught our attention. He opens his column with a story about how a massive group of people immediately left a certain hot spot (en masse) to go to the CollegeHumor party, which turned out to be a less-than-stellar party. Of course, the flock moving to the next party was instigated by location-based applications like Foursquare. Yes, we are all over the use of these location-based application — and perhaps this is more of a Friday’s Food for Thought angle — but doesn’t this seem odd? As Carr pointed out, it’s as if a digital dog whistle took control of the masses. Very cool for those who want to “be in the know,” but what about those who prefer to strike out on their own? Is there any place for them in this scenario? And, perhaps if the CollegeHumor party turned out to be amazing, we would not be writing this post. Thoughts?

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What was once Tech Days has grown over the past several years to include myriad events for the geospatial intelligence community. Previously, the week when Tech Days occurred, USGIF offered a classified and unclassified day of exhibits and a black-tie gala. Now, with the expanded offerings during the week that include the USGIF Invitational golf tournament, the Army Geospatial and Imagery Conference, the USGIF Workshop Series, and an expanded agenda with Tech Days that offers a community-wide networking reception, it only seemed appropriate to provide a new name for the week: GEOINT Community Week. To learn more about these exciting events, click here. We hope to see our faithful got geoint? readers there!

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Once again, we hope everyone had a restful weekend and that you are ready to take on the working world with dignity and tenacity. Once again, we have compiled a number of actionable news stories designed for you to seize the working week. We start off this post with a story about how troops in Afghanistan are being provided with tools to help them deal with the overwhelming amount of data that is being supplied via drones. In addition, we offer a number of other stories that relate to GEOINT, defense and intelligence. As we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

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