The MAD Lab supports its operational customers by producing 4-D interactive visual applications to support studies, acquisition, development, testing, operations, and performance monitoring of space-based and airborne collection systems. If adopted and implemented early, these tools can be used throughout the life-cycle of any new program – from development, testing, and operations support to performance monitoring.
Building upon a standard foundation, MAD Lab tools are built using sound physics-based modeling practices to ensure model integrity. Likewise, the MAD Lab has adopted a standardized modular build approach to take advantage of agnostic sensor applications through the use of parameter files where possible. This allows the MAD Lab to reuse existing proven modules in order to react quickly when the need arises to support time-critical efforts.
This philosophy has served the MAD Lab in the development of the Automated Collection Planning Tool (ACPT), the Aircraft Mission Planner (iAMP), the Automated Collection Guidance Environment (ACGE), and the United States Nuclear Detection System (USNDS) Constellation Management Boresite Allocation Tool (COMBAT).
MAD Lab's modeling and simulation engineering ingenuity is applied to requirements analysis, design, development, verification, validation, and accreditation. Specific capabilities include program management, operational analysis, system design, engineering, software prototypes, system test, launch support, flight and mission operations, and integrated logistics support. Specific areas of expertise include:
- Modeling and Simulation – The MAD Lab provides 4-Dimensional system modeling and simulation to support the acquisition and operational communities. This allows our customers to fully understand the results of their decisions through high fidelity visualization aids.
- Analysis of Alternatives – The MAD Lab supports the Effectiveness Analysis of many of these studies. Using customized MAD Lab tools, database applications, MATLAB, and even spreadsheets, the MAD Lab offers high-level analytical solutions to support these critical studies.
- Collection Planning – The MAD Lab creates visually interactive collection planning tools that support two critical phases of the intelligence community's Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination (TCPED) process: Tasking and Collection. Years of experience in operational collection support combined with the technical skills of our staff resulted in the development of several government-hosted tools which support space-based and airborne collection planning.
- Web Portal Design and Development – In order to support a large customer interface, Web Portal applications offer a light-client solution to feasibility analysis. The MAD Lab develops web-based applications in order to extend these collection support capabilities to this much larger customer base.
