PI: Helen Armstrong.
Master of Graphic & Experience Design (MGXD) students recently collaborated with the NC State Laboratory of Analytic Sciences (LAS) to explore the potential of AI to assist Target Digital Network Analysts (TDNAs).
Background: “Much of the foundational skills of TDNAs rest on understanding the complex underlying technology systems and pace of the global internet. Similar to how a general practitioner has to learn from a vast and ever-changing field of medicine in order to hone in on a particular diagnosis, TDNAs are expected to understand as well as utilize parameters of the global communication landscape in order to help satisfy intelligence requirements. To perform effectively, TDNAs must also learn how to apply that knowledge to a varied and numerous set of tools and analytics.”
Thus, the focus of the 2024 Spring Design Studio was to visualize the movement of data through the network and enable analysts to effectively understand how the data they are seeing fits into their own workflows. In doing so, the design studio project challenged students to apply AI solutions that fit both the vast expanse of the knowledge domain as well as the granularity of the practical data tasks.
The core research question of this project:
How might the design of an interface use the affordances of ML to enable Target Network Analysts (TDNAs) to efficiently and knowledgeably analyze data as it moves through the global communication network?
Students were asked to consider:
- A VISUALIZATION SYSTEM: How might the interface visualize a subset of the global communications network so that analysts might quickly and efficiently analyze the movement of data through this network?
- AN INFORMAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: How might this visualization system inform the analyst of the variety of protocols and authorities that apply as the data moves through this network?
- NEW AI POWERED WAYS OF SEARCHING AND FINDING: How might the interface’s machine learning capabilities enable analysts to efficiently and knowledgeably understand and potentially query both the data and its path through the network?
Prototypes
Designers: Alexis Boone, Rebecca Planchart, Kweku Baidoo, Graphic & Experience Design, © NC State University, All Rights Reserved
Designers: Olha Novikova, Parinita Das, Vaishnavi Parni, Graphic & Experience Design, © NC State University, All Rights Reserved
Designers: Soumya Batra, Aashka Patel, Leah Tatu, Gabrielle Thorpe , Graphic & Experience Design, © NC State University, All Rights Reserved