Problems with Big Data in the DoD

Big data is no doubt becoming a very effective weapon for the United States military. The massive amount of data accumulated from satellites and UAVs have been giving us an edge on the battlefield for years, and their capabilities are only being improved. However, is there such a thing as too much data? According to Hoffman’s article and common sense the answer is yes. As a class we have seen the difficulties that occur when you accumulate and have to sort through too much data. Currently Unmanned Arial Vehicles are a primary source of these mountains of data and some of the more advanced UAVs like the MQ-9 Reaper above are capable of streaming up to one million terabytes of data a day and 5000 hours of HD footage. While these capabilities are impressive, they are beginning to be too much for the analysts responsible for extracting useful information. The goal is to include more autonomy to decrease the workload of analysts in order to require, on average, less than one person per unmanned vehicle. This may take a while to accomplish but is necessary to getting useful data from these advanced pieces of technology.

http://defensetech.org/2013/02/20/big-data-poses-big-problem-for-pentagon/