IBM’s Robert Kleppinger on Cognitive Computing Platform’s Use in Army Maintenance, Logistics Operations

Robert Kleppinger, a senior client partner at IBM responsible for federal government contracts, told Data Center Dynamics in an interview published Tuesday how the company plans to apply its Watson cognitive computing system to the U.S. Army’s maintenance and logistics activities under a $135 million recompete contract.

“Ideally, the plan is to bring this further, probably next to aircraft, perhaps a combination of Apaches, Black Hawks and ultimately Chinooks,” Kleppinger said.

“And do the M1 and M2 tanks, complete the Stryker work, and then move on into the engineering equipment,” he added.

Kleppinger said IBM performs cognitive work for France and the U.K. and such contracts seek to provide military organizations overseas an opportunity to advance modernization.

“With regard to logistics and financial and things of that sort, I think cognitive is definitely the future,” he said.

“So the cognitive approach is going to be used by the US Army, but it’s also going to be global as far as other armies around the world are concerned,” he added.