U.S. aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin has partnered with Norwegian media technology developer Vizrt to create a big data visualization tool that combines real-time data processing and display with sensitive multi-touch hardware. The Multi-touch Executive Dashboard, or MED, can be used simultaneously by multiple users, each of whom has access to various display options and data layers. The first application implemented so far is a dashboard for visualizing data on energy resources, distribution and supply; this data includes real-time weather forecasts and wind data, and could be used by wind farms, power companies and others to optimize resource allocations dynamically.
Vizrt recorded a video of the dashboard in action (above), showing the tool displaying a wide range of geospatial information, from road networks to Doppler radar. In addition to energy, the MED team has envisioned applications in medical imaging, supply chain analytics and defense.