Reserve Mercury is one of the most ambitious real-world projects UCF computer science students have undertaken, with the mission to help members of the U.S. Army Reserve do their crucial work better.
You probably know someone in the U.S. Army Reserve and don 麻豆精品 S檛 even realize it. There are nearly 200,000 Army Reserve soldiers across the U.S. and 23 other countries. They are teachers, neighbors, parents, baristas, CEOs, coaches, nurses, beauty pageant contestants and college students. These same people are also the highly trained personnel who respond to hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires and health crises around the world. First and foremost, they are prepared to protect us from national security threats whenever and wherever they arise.
麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檙e phenomenal people, 麻豆精品 S� says computer science student Usman Siddiqui. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 extremely grateful for what they do because I know how hard they work to balance a civilian life with a military life. 麻豆精品 S�
It 麻豆精品 S檚 harder to strike that balance when reservists are hit with a flurry of administrative paperwork. For a civilian, filling out paperwork is annoying. For someone expected to provide combat support and humanitarian assistance, it can be a dangerous distraction.
麻豆精品 S淚n the Army Reserves, they still fill out most forms manually, 麻豆精品 S� says computer science lecturer Rick Leinecker. 麻豆精品 S淓very minute they spend on those forms takes them away from the work they signed up to do. 麻豆精品 S�
A few years ago, Col. Rex Eiserer, a brigade commander in the Army Reserve Aviation Command, noticed how these menial tasks were distracting reservists from the work Leinecker alludes to: piloting, engineering, nursing and practicing field missions. These administrative obstacles created efficiency issues that led to frustration, and impacts with recruitment and retention of reservists.
麻豆精品 S淲e needed a fresh set of eyes to come up with a solution, 麻豆精品 S� says Maj. Jonathan LacKamp, one of the Reserve Mercury project managers.
The Army Reserves reached out to the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), which has close ties to UCF and is fully aware of the university 麻豆精品 S檚 reputation in the tech sector and at computer science competitions around the world.
麻豆精品 S淭he challenges the Reserves had been dealing with didn 麻豆精品 S檛 surprise us, 麻豆精品 S� says UCF computer science lecturer Matthew Gerber. 麻豆精品 S淲hen a large organization tries to create and adopt efficiencies from within, it can be like trying to turn a cruise ship compared to a Jet Ski. That 麻豆精品 S檚 why they came to us. 麻豆精品 S�
In early 2021, Capt. Rich Mautino organized the first group of UCF students began work on what would become known as Reserve Mercury. The pitch: Create an app that 麻豆精品 S檚 easy to use, accessible on any device, and improves the overall experience for soldiers in the Army Reserves. According to military statistics, members of the Army Reserve make up nearly half of the Army 麻豆精品 S檚 maneuver support, but the Reserve receives only 6% of the total Army budget. Creating a forms management app through Reserve Mercury would need to be done, in military terms, with efficiency and precision.
麻豆精品 S淚nstead of going through our traditionally long procurement cycle, we knew UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 high-caliber student researchers and developers would approach this project like a start-up company, 麻豆精品 S� says LacKamp. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檇 rely on them for a proof of concept. 麻豆精品 S�
To build a Reserve Mercury team, Leinecker and Gerber dipped into UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 deep pool of computer science students. Of the roughly 6,500 students in CS-related majors, 500-600 advance to senior design courses each year, where they work on projects in collaboration with industry entities like Lockheed Martin, Siemens and the Florida Space Institute. This semester alone, teams of 15 students or fewer are working on 65 different projects. Reserve Mercury, however, does not fit the typical mold. At this moment, 28 students are working on the project because of its scope.
麻豆精品 S淗onestly, I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know what the gravity of this project would be when it first came to us, 麻豆精品 S� Leinecker says. 麻豆精品 S淭he first team that worked on it was kind of testing the waters. 麻豆精品 S�
They completed the proof of concept so well and so quickly that Army Reserve representatives from the 75thInnovation Command 麻豆精品 S� a specialized unit of civilian tech experts 麻豆精品 S� took it up the ladder to a panel of leaders and said, 麻豆精品 S淵ou need to see this. 麻豆精品 S� The project, and the relationships with the Army Reserve and NSIN, has grown since then.
Since January, UCF students have received mentorship from Sgt. 1st Class Chris Keeling, a video game developer, and Sgt. 1st Class Adriane Kuzminski, a user interfaces develop for the visually impaired.
麻豆精品 S淯CF students embody the adage: bring me a solution now before we have a problem, 麻豆精品 S� LacKamp says. 麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檝e floored us with their professionalism and expertise. It 麻豆精品 S檚 incredible. 麻豆精品 S�
The computer science program at UCF is, in essence, a testbed. Students do not make it to senior design without problem-solving skills and a drive to excel. The manager of a senior design project requires, to borrow another military phrase, the ability to mobilize talented people in one direction.
麻豆精品 S淲e elevate each other, 麻豆精品 S� says Siddiqui, who has managed Reserve Mercury since January. The students meet in labs, libraries, coffee shops, the L3Harris Engineering Center or virtually. One team creates the architecture of the app. A second team works on the user experience. And a third team simplifies the overall workflow.
Siddiqui admits that when he signed up for senior design, he envisioned himself working on an artificial intelligence project.
麻豆精品 S淏ut once I got into Reserve Mercury, I realized the importance of it, 麻豆精品 S� Siddiqui says. 麻豆精品 S淭housands of U.S. soldiers are, or will be, actively using this. It 麻豆精品 S檚 so big that we doubled the size of our team. We work directly with the Army Reserve daily. This is my way of perhaps showing my gratitude for what they do for us. It has to be one of the best experiences a UCF student could possibly have. 麻豆精品 S�
The focus of Reserve Mercury for now is to help the Army Reserve, but word is spreading. LacKamp says the app 麻豆精品 S渨ould be terrific to eventually implement in the Army active and National Guard. 麻豆精品 S� In less than two years and on a relatively small budget, Reserve Mercury has gone from a proof of concept to an evergreen project for UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 computer science department. A potential beta launch is possible in early 2024 for the Army Reserve Aviation Command.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 gratifying to see our students work on such a big project for such a big organization, 麻豆精品 S� Leinecker says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd to know they 麻豆精品 S檙e making such a big difference. 麻豆精品 S�
