How a small Air Force team used Vertex AI to overhaul their manual processes in just 90 days
Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Vertex AI
- Vertex AI Search and Conversation
- Dialogflow
Tech Stack
- Generative AI
- Machine Learning
- AI/ML Tools
Implementation Scale
- Departmental Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Productivity Improvements
- Digital Expertise
Technology Category
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms
- Analytics & Modeling - Generative AI
Applicable Industries
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Generative AI
- Digital Thread
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
The U.S. Air Force is a major branch of the United States Armed Forces, responsible for aerial and space warfare. It plays a crucial role in national security, providing airpower anytime, anywhere. The Air Force consists of active duty members, associated civilians, guard, and reserve service members. The Chief Data and AI Office within the Air Force is tasked with leveraging data and AI technologies to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness. The office identified the need to streamline processes to allow Airmen to focus more on their core mission rather than administrative tasks. The Air Force's commitment to modernization and innovation drives its efforts to explore new technologies like Generative AI to improve workflows and mission outcomes.
The Challenge
The U.S. Air Force Chief Data and AI Office aimed to modernize and accelerate processes within the Air Force, focusing on reducing the time and energy spent on administrative tasks. One key area identified for improvement was the e-Publishing website, which housed thousands of documents used by service members to check non-classified policies and regulations. The existing system was cumbersome, overloaded with information, and difficult to navigate, causing Airmen to spend excessive time finding necessary policies. New members faced hours of sorting and sifting to understand expectations, impacting their ability to focus on core missions.
The Solution
The Air Force team collaborated with Google Cloud to explore the potential of Generative AI in modernizing their processes. They focused on the e-Publishing website, aiming to create a more efficient and user-friendly system. The team evaluated various models available through Vertex AI and chose Vertex AI Search and Conversation to build a new portal. This portal allowed users to search, browse, and read e-Publishing PDFs more efficiently. The use of Dialogflow enabled the development of chatbots capable of handling complex conversations, providing a natural and engaging user experience. The tools brought together Airmen with different skill sets, allowing them to contribute to the development process according to their expertise. The project was completed within the 90-day deadline, showcasing the potential of AI to transform workflows within the Department of Defense.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Case Study missing?
Start adding your own!
Register with your work email and create a new case study profile for your business.
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Data Capture for Afghanistan Forces
Electronic equipments on the field of Afghanistan provided information on the status of the vehicle and to identify potential threats surrounding it to the British Force. The monitoring and interpretation of this data requires robust and sophisticated digitization for data capture and communication.
Case Study
Enhancing Security and Compliance in Remitly's Global Money Transfer Service with Fastly
Remitly, an online remittance service, was faced with the challenge of securing its proprietary global transfer network. The company needed a security solution that could meet PCI requirements and protect customers' sensitive transactions through its mobile application. The solution had to be capable of defending against new and emerging attack types without impacting performance. Remitly also had to deal with irregular traffic patterns, such as a sudden spike in account transfers from a small network segment on the Pacific coastline of South America. The company needed to determine in real time whether such traffic indicated an attack or valid requests. A traditional web application firewall (WAF) would not be able to distinguish this traffic, potentially leading to customer frustration if the IP was blacklisted.
Case Study
Major Aerospace Company Automates Asset Management
The O&M division of an aerospace and global security company was using spreadsheets to manually track more than 3,000 assets assigned to students and staff. Maintaining audit trails for this high volume of equipment became increasingly time-consuming and challenging. The chore involved knowing precisely what equipment was on hand, what had been issued, its location and the name of the custodial owner of each item. Every aspect of this task was carried owner of each item. Every aspect of this task was carried out by individuals with spreadsheets. Manually documenting the full lifecycle of each asset added to the burden. This included tracking maintenance requirements and records, incidents and damages, repairs, calibrations, depreciation, and end-of-life data.
Case Study
Securing a Large Data Center in the EMEA Region: An IoT Case Study
A leading data-center operator in the EMEA region, with multiple facilities spanning over 25,000 square meters, faced significant security challenges. The operator experienced interruptions in their internal IT network due to unsupervised work of third-party technicians. Despite having a high-end building control system that provided 24x7 monitoring and control to all the building’s infrastructure, the data center was vulnerable from a cyber perspective as it was connected to the IT network infrastructure. The operator launched an urgent OT cyber security project that included both IT-OT network segmentation and OT network asset mapping and anomaly detection. The main objectives were to harden the security of the server systems, secure the facility’s power supply and server cooling system, strengthen the segmentation between building and operational systems, create a visual OT network map, and set up a system for presenting supply-chain attacks that may threaten the data center through equipment vendors’ maintenance activities.
Case Study
Leveraging Graph Technology for Enhanced Cybersecurity: A Case Study on MITRE's CyGraph
MITRE, a federally-funded, not-for-profit company that manages seven national research and development laboratories in the United States, was grappling with the challenge of managing an influx of cybersecurity data. The constant changes in network environments were impacting the security posture of U.S. government agencies. Intrusion alerts, anti-virus warnings, and seemingly benign events like logins, service connections, and file share access were all potentially associated with adversary activity. The cybersecurity researchers at MITRE needed to go beyond rudimentary assessments of security posture and attack response. This required merging isolated data into higher-level knowledge of network-wide attack vulnerabilities and mission readiness. The challenge was not the lack of information, but the ability to assemble disparate pieces of information into an overall analytic picture for situational awareness, optimal courses of action, and maintaining mission readiness. The team also struggled with fully comprehending a given security environment and mapping all known vulnerabilities.
Case Study
Enhancing Security Precision with IoT: A Case Study of Guardsman Group
Guardsman Group, a leading security company in the Caribbean, faced a significant challenge in maintaining the security of its digital infrastructure. The company provides security equipment, personnel, and systems for various businesses across the region. However, one of its offices experienced a security incident that affected all communications at that location. The existing security tools were not sufficient to provide the necessary protection, and it took hours to identify the source of the issue. This incident highlighted the need for a dynamic solution that could proactively identify threats. The company's primary concern was any disruption to its business, as it manages a significant portion of Jamaica's money and cannot afford for its operations to go down.
