Newswise — Mission Solutions Engineering (MSE), of Arlington, Va., and Moorestown, has awarded a $100,000 one-year contract to Rowan University to help the firm improve the capabilities of a software system called Advanced Display Infrastructure (ADI).
ADI is an application that provides situational awareness to military users and others through a display of the Earth, using the World Geodetic System 1984, in part to show the location of military units. Similar to Google Earth, ADI allows users to navigate a globe to view those units and potential targets.
Dr. Adrian Rusu, an associate professor of computer science, will head Rowan’s team of four undergraduate and graduate students on the project titled “Visualization and Software Engineering Strategies for Tactical Decisions Advances.”
The project will focus in part on developing software for new decision aids, tools that will help the ADI users more quickly determine and act upon courses of action. The students will develop features that help improve the navigation around the globe and calculations that help determine potential collisions between two objects. The students’ computer code will be used as an external support for ADI in what is called an “an independent library” and enable users to employ portable devices similar to a handheld Global Positioning System or GPS. Rowan actually started work on the project last semester, with students developing, among other things, a collision detection tool.
Ultimately, MSE will use the Rowan work to promote its ADI product and to cultivate more business from military service branches.
As well as benefiting MSE, the collaboration benefits Rowan computer science students, who will gain “real-world” experience. MSE is in effect a client of the students, who must deliver a product, hold meetings and present a final report to MSE management.
“Students at Rowan are being exposed to a real-world project unlike any other,” said Robert Russell, 21, of Mt. Laurel, a senior who is the student leader of the Rowan team. “Students are exposed to the software engineering life cycle, as they have to gather requirements, design the system, develop the code, test their application and deliver it to the customer. Students are given real responsibility and are expected to work 20 hours a week on this project. An opportunity like this will help students when they apply for a job.”
In addition to this project, the MSE/Rowan collaboration will include establishing a co-op program and offering master-level courses at MSE facilities.
“We are very excited to expand our partnership with Rowan University,” said MSE President Tim Caswell. “Through the ADI effort and co-op program, MSE is able to bring innovative perspectives to our offerings and students will interact with and learn from industry leaders. We hope that the success of this program will lead to future collaboration efforts in other areas.” Headquartered in Arlington, Va., with a Moorestown operations center, MSE is a full-service systems and software engineering provider with nearly 40 years’ experience in delivering mission systems. The firm, which is recognized as a leader in systems and software engineering, designs, develops and integrates mission-critical software. MSE, among the top six percent of software development organizations globally, provides cutting-edge technology to the U.S. government and allies around the world.
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