Application of hypermedia and expert system technology to Navy Environmental Satellite Image Analysis

The Naval Research Laboratory Marine Meteorology Division, over a period of more than 15 years, has developed a series of satellite imagery training documents called the Navy Tactical Applications Guides (NTAGs). The NTAG materials are unique because of their innovative focus on operationally relevant meteorological and oceanographic phenomena of concern to naval forces throughout the world and the exceedingly high quality of printed images. Advances in hypermedia and CD-ROM technology are enabling the enhancement and continued distribution of the NTAGs through the development of an electronic application called LaserTAG. CD-ROM technology provides large reproduction and storage capacity at a relatively low cost ($25 for LaserTAG discs versus $1000 for the 11-volume NTAG set). Hypermedia and electronic conversion supply the ability to 1) rapidly locate material through keyword searches and navigate to those locations through hypermedia links, 2) read text and view graphics simultaneously using multiple windows, and 3) create electronic annotation and bookmark files. A second technology, expert systems, is further expanding potential uses of the information documented in the NTAG series. The Satellite Image Analysis Meteorological Expert System (SIAMES) encapsulates important conclusions and rules of analysis. The SIAMES prototype described here leads the user through a hierarchy of image interpretation expertise derived from the NTAG series by querying the user about details appearing in the satellite imagery. The ultimate goal, particularly important when resident expertise is minimal or nonexistent, is to develop an automated method to deduce sensible weather parameters that affect navy operations. Applications of these technologies to environmental satellite image analysis provide new opportunities for their use, not only in the operational community, but in training and research as well.