This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain, and Language (BCBL), recently published in the magazine Scientific Reports.
For the purposes of the study, the BCBL researchers used 15 dyads of people of the same sex, complete strangers to each other, separated by a folding screen.
Lab equipment and lab facilities (routers, Channel Service Unit/ Data Service Units, Asynchronous Transfer Mode switches, Private Branch Exchange, and communications security equipment) were provided by the
BCBL (G) and through a contract with the General Dynamics Corporation.
To mitigate risk in developing the UA/FCS operational concept, organizational design and operational architecture TRADOC and the BCBL (G) determined that a communications experiment was necessary to explore the network functions for the OFUA.
The study plan identified three study issues of which the BCBL (G) Map Exercise only considered the first; "How does the UA successfully execute the operational concept?
The three TRADOC EEA's considered by the BCBL (G) MAPEX were "How does C4ISR enable the UA?", "How should the smallest UA units be organized?" and "How do you employ available UA forces and assets on the battlefield to achieve the tactical operations outlined in the UA O&O plan?" [Appendix D: UA O&O Plan].
Three of the six vignettes under the approved fiscal year 2003 CEP TRADOC 2.0 Caspian Sea scenario were used for the BCBL (G) MAPEX.
The BCBL (G) main effort was to attack the network issue for the first time in the UA CEP process.
The Network MAPEX was an integrated Signal Center effort as the BCBL (G) invited SIGCEN subject matter experts from the Directorate of Combat Developments and the SIGCEN TRADOC Systems Managers.
The BCBL (G) staff data collectors captured all of the data collection efforts and the restated insights were compiled into a final Network MAPEX Insight report.