Case Studies

CyberWorx leadership supported a local USAFA effort called USAFA Strong. Cadets solicited CyberWorx’s assistance to reimagine the mental health support system at the Academy. The PIA recruited participants from academia and the industry to mentor cadets as the cadets organized functional teams to tackle various aspects of cadet mental health at the Academy. This effort was both sensitive and unique in that, the industry, and academic participants were asked to help the cadets solve their own problems without “over-steering” the cadets’ thoughts and opinions as they explored technology and the support structure. The cadets and institution learned better ways to support cadet mental health at a military academy.

CyberWorx ran a 2-day futures event in January 2019 to highlight the way AI was being deployed in the private sector. The PIA recruited 10 companies that had successful AI deployments in industries across several sectors to educate 50 government participants on the use of artificial intelligence to optimize business operations. Companies gave the participants an overview of the many ways their capabilities were enhancing business operations and provided a few examples of how the AF could adopt AI to increase efficiency. Our team facilitated deep dives and used case generation between industry representatives and government participants to scope proofs of concept for the lead sponsor, the 70th ISR Wing. We like to think we paved the way for the MIT Accelerator, and AI Accelerator, which we have supported on several efforts.

CyberWorx partnered with StrikeWerx, Global Strike Command, the B-52 program office, cadets, Wings of Blue and Spark, and USAFA faculty on this 3-day sprint event. The PIA recruited a global expert from the United Kingdom to participate in this event. The event focused on redesigning the B-52 Bomber’s aging survival equipment, which is no longer supported by the vendor. The team quickly defined problems and requirements, brainstormed solutions, and tested a preliminary prototype for a modernized ejection survival kit. The final prototype solution automatically deploys to ensure the crewmember’s safe ejection without damaging the survival kit. The program office told participants this 3-day effort shaved 2-3 years off their normal development cycle.

CyberWorx partnered with the AF Spectrum Management Office, their senior advisor, and the OSD to run a discovery event for AF stakeholders. CyberWorx developed six tracks, and the PIA recruited 27 companies to support this 3-day virtual event and scheduled break-out sessions for government participants to connect with the tech companies for Q&A and use case generation. The event included senior members of the future Spectrum Warfare Wing (SWW). This event, with particular emphasis on industry participation, informed and shaped some of the initiatives currently underway in the new SWW.

The Shadow Operations Center at Nellis Air Force Base maintains a virtual test environment for new technologies and capabilities during operations and flag exercises and captures flight/telemetry data evaluations to inform new TTPs and configurations. CyberWorx was asked to run an event at Nellis Air Force Base with relevant stakeholders to help the SHOC develop a modernization strategy to rapidly reconfigure their environment, increase the number of events they can support, and accelerate the adoption of technology. The PIA recruited 7 companies such as VMWare and Redhat to provide technical advice on building an environment that could rapidly adapt to support diverse missions and events back-to-back. Industry expertise was critical to informing their “go-forward” strategy to modernize the environment.

CyberWorx was tasked by the ACC Chief Scientist to partner with the CSEL radio joint program office to re-imagine the CSEL radio. CyberWorx recruited users from across the services and communities using this tool. The PIA recruited a diverse group from industries, including advocates from the special needs community and the textile industry. The impact of these diverse perspectives on program office personnel was game-changing. The program office had never considered embedding transistors in a flight suit and potentially making the flight suit a node/beacon that activates after an ejection, or how downed airmen activate a signal if they are paralyzed. These injects prompted new thinking about what the next generation CSEL radio might be.

CyberWorx was tasked by the 16 AF/CC to evaluate whether low code or no code platforms could provide Airmen a tool to effectively build or code their own solutions. CyberWorx worked with a group of Airmen across the command with skills ranging from multi-lingual coders to airmen with no coding experience, who were then paired with industry partners. The PIA negotiated 120-day software licenses with 6 vendors and training and support for the Airmen coders. Airmen coders built customized solutions using the low code or no code platforms for uses of instructing, marketing research, scheduling and collaboration. The 16 AF/CC reviewed the 6 pitches from the Airmen coders during the Rocky Mountain Cyber Symposium in March 2021 and found the effort compelling. 16 AF purchased additional site licenses at the EoFY 2021 to expand the use of low code or no code used within the command.

In late 2018, Blue Horizons team from Air University approached CyberWorx for assistance with a business intelligence tool for the contracting/acquisitions and logistics communities. Contingency contracting officers (CCO) travel down range in the early stages of an operation to secure necessary supplies for a new location, entailing “door-to-door” engagements to identify and secure vendors. Some necessary supplies must be transported by ship or plane, which requires more planning and resources. The PIA recruited companies for a problem-solving effort to inform how industry approached business intelligence operations when considering a site or operation in a new foreign country. The methods, tools and information gathered by industry, along with our team’s discovery conducted with logisticians and acquisition professionals, informed the content and organization of the clickable prototype our team developed. The prototype was further developed by a small business in consultation with our UX’perts through Phase I, II, and III SBIR’s. This tool was deployed in February 2022 to support operations in Ukraine and has saved the DAF millions by giving CCOs advanced intelligence regarding the types of products, amounts, and procurement timelines for items in a given geography.