Florida Tech, Air Force to Use Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Respond to COVID-19

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA -- Faculty and students from Florida Tech's Center for Advanced Data Analytics and Systems are working with a team from the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command/Intelligence Data/Tech Futures Division and the Air Force Research Lab/Multi-Domain Sensing Autonomy Division to bring artificial intelligence and machine learning to COVID-19 planning and resource management. The goal of the Florida Tech work, which began in early April and could continue at least through the summer, is to strengthen the understanding of the effects COVID-19 has on Air Force missions and operations. "Our collaboration with Florida Tech has been critical to changing the way we think about data and present it to our commanders," said John Matyjas, ACC Chief Scientist and lead for their COVID Data Analytics Team. The CADAS team of Carlos Otero, Adrian M. Peter and Anthony O. Smith, supported by students Xavier Merino, David Elliott, Steven Wyatt, Benjamin Luchterhand, Evan Martino, Christopher Bonomi and David Nieves-Acaron, has developed capabilities to rapidly gain situational awareness and support the seamless integration of data-driven artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning models for forecasting. "This task provides invaluable experience to our students while helping in the critical mission to better understand and utilize COVID-19-related data that ultimately can help the Air Force manage and move beyond this challenging situation," Otero said.