The Quick Utility for Intelligence Planning and Scheduling (QUIPS) computer program automates the scheduling of resources that must be shared among multiple tasks or groups. Designed to aid coordination of military intelligence operations at the division and brigade levels, QUIPS might also prove useful in coordinating other large-scale operations in which resources and tasks are dispersed to various locations. QUIPS generates one primary display to show all resources on a battlefield or other area of interest, the statuses of the resources, and timeliness for their availability. A graphical user interface enables the user to point and click instead of type, thereby reducing the user's workload and increasing efficiency. In the original military application, QUIPS is coupled with the Tactical Movement Analyzer (TMA) and Sensor Placement Analyzer (SPA) programs to create an end-to-end asset-management software module. TMA digests data on roads, rivers, railroads, urban areas, vegetation, and elevation to present a picture that helps a military analyst determine the possibilities for movement by enemy and friendly forces. SPA helps in determining the most effective locations for placing a limited number of sensors, taking account of the area that could be covered by each sensor at a given location, and of effects of weather, terrain, and distance on the propagation of radio signals to and from the sensors.

This work was done by Nora Mainland, Kurt Stadsklev, and Paul Maglio of Caltech for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.techbriefs.com  under the Computer Software category, or circle no. 165on the TSP Order Card in this issue to receive a copy by mail ($5 charge).

This software is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Don Hart of the California Institute of Technology at (818) 393-3425. Refer to NPO-20207.



This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
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Software for scheduling use of shared resources

(reference NPO20207) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

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