Innovation Proving Ground

Using $50 million funded by the Texas Legislature, the Innovation Proving Ground (IPG) is located at Texas A&M University System RELLIS Campus. The IPG provides an outdoor test and experimentation facility capable of rigorously assessing a myriad of technologies, sensors, platforms, networks and testing processes in an operationally relevant environment. It is positioned to support the test and evaluation of technology across the technology readiness levels, ranging from innovative prototypes to fully developed programs. Key to the IPG is its agile approach to testing and test processes, which positions it as an area of demonstration for proving grounds. The IPG is a key component of the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex (BCDC). 

Through the integration of a combination of cutting-edge capabilities, the IPG creates a unique testing ecosystem that enables a variety of tailorable tests, evaluations and research efforts that allow the development of inventive, synergistic strategies to expand the aperture on evaluating the newest advances in technology. For more information, email the IPG team at IPG@tamu.edu. 

KEY ATTRIBUTES 

• Supports a “shift-left” testing and research approach by providing a readily available venue for assessing systems, technologies and prototypes through programs of record early in the process in full collaboration with stakeholders. 
• Provides fully instrumented facilities and systems in order to optimize situational understanding, data opportunities and enable analytics, especially real-time streaming analytics. 
• Facilitates evaluations in an operationally relevant environment across land, air and cyber domains, and in 3D space (air-ground-subterranean…Phase 2) involving users early and often. 
• Services a broad array of customers such as military services, federal agencies, private industry and other academic institutions. 
• Delivers tailorable support to a full range of events, including tests and evaluations; sponsored technology exhibitions; Innovation, Integration, Evaluation Events (I2E2); Hosted Agile Learning Events (HALE); and basic and applied research efforts. 

CAPABILITIES 

The IPG test areas encompass more than 134 acres of land and include:  

Test Areas: One of the key attributes of the IPG is the ability to move technologies from the laboratory to a realistic environment for testing in various conditions like weather, limited visibility, complex terrain, cyber environments, etc.  

The Mobility Challenge Course (MCC): A one-mile-long engineered test track capable of supporting up to 44 ton wheeled, tracked and multipedaled  vehicles. The MCC consists of a mix of surface types and incorporates 21 distinct technical challenges, including horizontal and vertical gradients, wall climb, washboards and rubble obstacles. Unique physical capabilities are an adjustable water fording lane, two customizable soil lanes and a separate test track with scaled obstacles for the use of smaller vehicles like small man-portable unmanned ground and air vehicles. A unique aspect of this facility is a 90-foot long, 48-inch diameter floodable tunnel that can be flooded up to a depth of 36 inches and immediately drained as needed. 

The Off-Road Test Area (OTA): The OTA delivers 100 acres of complex terrain, including wooded, hills, open-maneuver terrain, a water fording area and a reconfigurable urban center. Unique capabilities of this facility are the water fording pond and 600 feet of 48-inch diameter tunnels that incorporate a Faraday cage and an industrial wind generator. 

Private Network: The IPG integrates a full-range communications architecture to provide a revolutionary network environment. This includes access to fiber and an expeditionary mesh network. The highlight of this network is a private 5G LTE capability. The 5G provides sub-6, mmWave and C-band coverage and incorporates three distinctive cores (a research core, a test core and a security/cyber core) that enable unique testing and evaluation capabilities, including, but not limited to: 

• Streaming video feeds and massive amounts of data from sensors and platforms with low latency and high reliability 
• Capability to support operations involving controlled information and material 
• The ability to be quickly reconfigured and tailored to unique testing requirements 
• Serving as a vector for cyber exploitation of systems 
• The ability to be exploited to attacks on the network and the core itself and quickly restored  
• Facilitating live-virtual-constructive simulation and distributed testing 
• Providing network emulation 

Instrumentation: The IPG is outfitted with the latest on-and-off platform technologies to categorize the environment and capture telemetry data and then leveraging the network to stream this data to analysts. This digital ecosystem results in the data being delivered in real time to the analysts, enabling immediate analytics that allow for optimizing test operations. 

Cybersecurity: The IPG events support comprehensive assessments of system cybersecurity in operational environments via the integration of live, open-air test capabilities and digital twins of network infrastructure and threats. This provides a tailorable ability to replicate denied, degraded, intermittent or limited (DDIL) network, positioning and timing conditions. Red and blue hat analysis will be conducted to assess observed network defenses in various scenarios. 

Modeling and Simulation (M&S): The IPG’s model-test-model approach employs a wide range of modeling and simulation solutions to support test planning, augment live test environments and support event analysis. Digital twins of systems, ranges, networks and environments provide users the ability to understand capabilities in all domains, without the high cost of a purely live event. The IPG works closely with Department of Defense M&S leads to find solutions that can quickly evolve from high-fidelity digital twins to real-time, soldier and systems in the loop applications for acquisition, testing, experimentation and training. 

Data Collection and Storage: The IPG is unique in its capability to collect and store test data. The IPG instrumentation and supporting network give the IPG the capability to live stream real-time data to a fusion cell where multiple inputs (data, video, simulations and models, etc.) are all merged into a common operating picture providing situational understanding and immediate data analytics. This ability is a game-changer that vastly decreases test cycles, ensures minimal intrusion into the realistic test scenarios and provides the ability to begin analysis during and throughout the entire test execution, thereby accelerating the test analysis and reduction activities. This capability results in reduced time and associated costs needed to execute tests. In addition, the IPG can store large amounts of data to support a reach-back capability and, as authorized, sharing or collaboration. 

Test Support: The IPG has teams of experts in the areas of test planning, administration, modeling, simulation, instrumentation and data analytics. 

Each cell is working for a test director and is responsible for collaborating with customers in developing scenario-based events tailored to requirements designed to get optimal results. 

Users will also be able to schedule workspace within the IPG to facilitate collaboration with staff during event preparation and execution to conduct “test-fix-test” using the BCDC’s “makerspace” that includes work bays, a clean room, electronics and laser labs, and a state-of-the-art machine shop. 

The IPG provides users with an exceptional venue for testing and research. By combining state-of-the-art infrastructure, methods and techniques with teams of experts in supporting test and research activities, the IPG creates a unique, world-class ecosystem that optimizes outcomes for the test and research communities.