Spencer Koroly
“Unleashing Potential: Shaping Communication via Automated Transcriptions”
Sponsor Perspective
Spencer Korlory
Overview
Through Hacking for Defense® (H4D), a nationwide university program that leverages the brightest students to address national security problems, students are taught how to apply entrepreneurial methodologies to understand and offer pathways for addressing a specific government problem.
Each team is given a different problem and every problem has a government problem sponsor. Problem sponsors are members of the Department of Defense or Intelligence Community who possess the relevant technical or professional expertise to mentor their students. They act as both the client and liaison, owning the problem the students are trying to solve and facilitating their investigation into its root causes.
Sponsor Biography:
Spencer Koroly graduated from San Diego State University in Mechanical Engineering. Throughout his Naval career, Spencer worked in various roles such as Design Engineer for Aircraft Carrier Advanced Arresting Gear Water Twister, Product Engineering supporting gas turbine subsystems, and Additive Topology Optimized Manufacturing Designer. At NIWC Pacific, he works on rapid design, analysis, fabrication, assembly, field testing and post-production support of advanced robotic systems.
Sponsor Perspective:
Could you talk us through the problem you submitted?
The initial problem statement was focused on solving the issue of consolidating and making intelligence data easily digestible for human operators who are supervising swarm robotics systems. The idea was to minimize friction between robots and humans in the loop, providing key data to operators. However, the problem scope evolved during the semester. The team realized that there was a more pressing problem related to communication bottleneck. They discovered that radio operators had to manually transcribe notes, which could take minutes and result in delays. The solution they developed involved automating audio transcription to save time and enable quicker decision-making.
What did the students present at the end of the semester?
The Stanford student team presented a solution to address the communication bottleneck issue for the Marine Corps. They created an automated transcription tool that could transcribe audio cues from radios in real-time, reducing the time required for manual note transcription. This tool significantly decreased the time it takes to transfer important information and intelligence, ultimately improving the speed and accuracy of decision-making in the field.
How did their finding impact the organization?
By automating the transcription process, the time required to disseminate critical information was drastically reduced. This improvement can enhance the decision-making process in the field, allowing for quicker adaptation to changing circumstances and potentially leading to improved operational effectiveness and safety for warfighters. The rapid dissemination of information would undoubtedly represent a remarkable advancement for the Marine Corps. If we manage to effectively implement this initiative, which I'm confident is entirely feasible, the notable time savings would save lives.
Why should other potential government sponsors get involved in the H4D program?
The greatest asset to H4D is gaining access to extensive data and receiving valuable feedback from warfighters. I believe this is advantageous for scientists like myself who possess an entrepreneurial mindset. Engaging in user interviews or customer interviews allows us to thoroughly understand the problem statement and focus on addressing the actual problem. However, many engineers tend to have a solution in mind without a clear problem to solve. This often leads to a situation where they are seeking a problem for their solution. This is why it is essential for my peers to pause, reassess, and recognize the importance of starting with a problem and then developing a solution accordingly.
🌐 Take action now by submitting your challenge through our dedicated problem submission page. Together, let's pave the way for innovative defense solutions!