Cursor on Target is a simple exchange standard that is used to share information about targets. Its loosely coupled design led to multiple implementations and is used to facilitate interoperability of several systems with already fielded military software. Cursor on Target was originally developed by MITRE in 2002 in support of the U.S. Air Force Electronic Systems Center. Mitre first demonstrated Cursor on Target during a combined joint task force exercise in 2003, during which a Predator unmanned aircraft was able to operate in coordination with manned aircraft.
COT text example
For more detailed info read this and thisdocument.
The COT protocol is used with ATAK to provide an exchange between sensors + coms etc.
In November last year I had a client that was looking for a geospatial situational awareness ecosystem for their security guards. Upon researching I found out the the ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit) system was released to the public earlier that year (2020)
ATAK is just one team awareness kit medium of many. Other mediums which are integrated into this TAK solution are WinTAK and the FreeTAKServer these are all available to the public at this time. Check out the awesome FreeTAKTeam Github here.
FreeTAKServer works as the connector between the ATAK-CIV and WinTAK-CIV platforms. As of the date today FreeTAKServer is still in development and wonderful new features and plugins are being developed to be shared with the Github community.
The definition of ATAK according to the wiki is as follows:
Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) is an Android smartphone geospatial infrastructure and military situation awareness app. It allows for precision targeting, surrounding land formation intelligence, situational awareness, navigation, and data sharing. This Android app is a part of the larger TAK family of products.
For more info on the FreeTAKServer check out the YouTube video series by * DA-B6 *here also please check out the ATAK MAP YouTube page here
