Warfighter enhancement activities Using tomorrow’s technologies to enhance today’s armed forces Volume 3, Issue 1, Expanded Conference Edition
efforts in human
social culture behavior modeling human–robot interaction: Emerging technologies promise natural collaboration with robotic systems
Warfighter Enhancement Activities is produced
the new challenges of
hybrid
warfare
by the Applied Cognition and Training in Immersive Virtual Environments Laboratory at the University of Central Florida, Orlando IST-CR-09-05
contents 1 a joint perspective 2 hybrid warfare 6 modeling culture 8 human-robot interaction 9 Remote Weapon Systems 10 Wearable neurosensors 11 patrolling the FAR north 12 an expert approach 13 culturePad 13 augcog & learning 14 in brief about the newsletter Warfighter Enhancement Activities’ primary purpose is to facilitate communication and coordination of military Science & Technology projects sponsored by organizations, such as ONR, RDECOM, OSD, DARPA, ARL, and others. This publication is produced by the Applied Cognition and Training in Immersive Virtual Environments (ACTIVE) Laboratory at the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Simulation and Training. IST publication tracking number: ist-cr-09-05. Denise Nicholson, Ph.D. CMSP Denise Nicholson, Ph.D. is the director of the Applied Cognition and Training in Immersive Virtual Environments Laboratory (www. active.ist.ucf.edu) at the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Institute for Simulation & Training (IST), and she holds joint affiliations with UCF’s Modeling & Simulation Graduate Program, Industrial Engineering & Management Department and College of Optics & Photonics. Her research focuses on human systems modeling, simulation, and training for DoD and dual-use applications. Nicholson joined UCF in 2005 after serving more than 18 years in the government. She has authored more than 70 technical publications and is coeditor of The Handbook of Virtual Environments for Training and Education. Other associated researchers in the ACTIVE Lab include: Stephanie Lackey, Ph.D., Deputy Director Daniel Barber, Robotics & Intelligent Systems Julie Drexler, Ph.D., Adaptive Automation Eric C. Ortiz, Virtual Environment Development Lauren Reinerman-Jones, Ph.D., Neuroergonomics & Human Performance Sae Schatz, Ph.D., Adaptive, Intelligent Training Jennifer Vogel-Walcutt, Ph.D., Simulation-based Learning
This publication was compiled by Sae Schatz and Joy Martinez. The newsletter staff can be contacted at the Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, ACTIVE Lab, 3100 Technology Pkwy., Orlando, FL 32826 USA. Email: active.newsletter@ist.ucf.edu cover art by: eric c. ortiz, ucf-ist active
upcoming events I/ITSEC 2009 The 2009 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference, with the theme of “Train to Fight – Fight to Win”. November 30–December 3, 2009 • Orlando, FL • www.iitsec.org Winter Sim 2009 The annual Winter Simulation Conference focuses this year on “Energy Alternatives”. Held in conjunction with the MASM Conference. December 13–16, 2009 • Austin, TX • www.wintersim.org BRIMS 2010 19th Conference on Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation March 22–25, 2010 • Charleston, SC • www.brimsconference.org 2010 Spring Simulation Multiconference The Society for Modeling and Simulation International’s annual meeting, which includes more than 10 concurrent simulation conferences April 11–15, 2010 • Orlando, FL • www.scs.org ITEC 2010 The 2010 International Training Education Conference, Europe’s largest and most established defense training and simulation conference and exhibition May 18–20, 2010 • London, UK • www.itec.co.uk AHFE International 2010 The 3rd International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, held jointly with meetings on human factors in health care and manufacturing July 17–20, 2010 • Miami, FL • www.ahfe2010.org Cross-Cultural Decision Making 2010 The 1st Annual International Conference on Cross-Cultural Decision Making, held jointly AHFE International 2010 July 17–20, 2010 • Miami, FL • www.ahfe2010.org
Funded Research Positions Available at the UCF-IST ACTIVE Lab Nestled in the heart of the Florida High Tech Corridor, the Institute for Simulation & Training’s Applied Cognition and Training in Virtual Environments (ACTIVE) Laboratory is at the forefront of Modeling and Simulation research. The ACTIVE Lab is engaged in applied research and development for the analysis and improvement of human performance. Our multi-disciplinary research team of more than 30 members conducts cutting edge research in a variety of fascinating fields.
The ACTIVE Lab is offering funded research opportunities in the following areas: • • • • •
Operational Neurosensing Adaptive Automation Social Cultural Behavior Modeling Human–Robot Interaction Simulation-Based Learning
For further information, please visit our Web site: www.active.ist.ucf.edu
a joint perspective Readying our troops for the Long War clarke lethin (col ret.), technical
Clarke Lethin (Col Ret.) served as the chief of staff for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, and is now in a civilian role as technical manager for the Joint Forces Command’s Future Immersive Training Environment (FITE) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) effort.
manager, fite jctd, lethinc@onr.navy.mil
Modern warfare takes place within an in- learn critical skills rapidly and then respond tegrated battlespace where security, stabil- agilely to our dynamic adversaries. ity, counterinsurgency, irregular warfare, and In response to these needs, the Defense conventional operations occur simultane- community will soon open a Joint National ously. This battlespace is also decentralized. Program for Small Unit Excellence. The proSmall, dispersed units of young servicemen gram will serve as a hub for coordinating, reand women are responsible for making com- sourcing, and sharing service, academic, and plex decisions, which in the past only higher industry initiatives that address individual headquarter personand small unit leader nel addressed. For America possesses the greatest raw mate- human performance instance, it is not un- rial in the world—our young people— and training for common for young but we are squandering their potential hybrid warfare. Comwarfighters today to mander JFCOM by providing them with antiquated be distributing aid, championed this iniwhile also monitor- training and enforcing restrictive Cold tiative, and it grew War-style education and doctrine. ing and buffering out of the Joint Forctensions among loes Command’s Future cal warring factions, and kinetically engag- Immersive Training Environment (FITE) ing with an insurgent group—all in the same Joint Capability Technology Demonstration area, all at the same time, and without the im- (JCTD) effort. mediate oversight of a high-level commander. Among the FITE JCTD team, we often To move forward, we must train our tell young warfighters that the most imporpersonnel, across all ranks and specialties, tant six inches on the battlefield is between to higher levels of proficiency, help them to your ears. The Program for Small Unit Exunderstand their thinking processes, and give cellence and the FITE JCTD effort recognize them confidence to trust their own decisions. that the nature of warfare has not changed, We must teach every Marine, Sailor, Solider, but the conditions of hybrid warfare require and Airman to minimize, deter, and defeat our military to evolve in order to prepare and insurgent threats while also building better deploy agile, adaptive units. interactions with civilian populaces. We must It is unreasonable to expect a commandprovide our personnel with the mental tools ing general to single-handedly control a modthat enable them to read the human land- ern battlefield. Instead, we must unlock the scape and take action upon the information power of individuals and small teams. As milthey gather—making it possible to act pro- itary leaders and scientific advisors, it is our actively, left-of-bang, before only kinetic op- responsibility to provide our young warfighttions remain. And finally, we must give our ers with better training environments, trainwarfighters training methods, training tech- ing methods, and the mental tools necessary nologies, and tools that will enable them to to be successful in this new era of warfare.
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cover story
hybrid warfare sae schatz, phd,
ucf-ist active, sschatz@ist.ucf.edu / joy martinez, ucf-ist active, jmartinez@ist.ucf.edu
America faces new challenges as we enter the next chapter of global conflict The nature of global conflict is changing. Since 2001, the United States has openly engaged in an unconventional military conflict defined by a range of counterterrorism, counterinsurgency/peacekeeping, and infrastructure-building initiatives. The US military presently faces a variety of traditional and nontraditional challenges, and we face potent and often-decentralized adversaries who employ a variety of irregular tactics in an attempt to erode our power, influence, and will. This reality—popularly called hybrid warfare—blends conventional and unconventional tactics, and blurs the lines between war and peace, combatant and civilian. To accomplish its goals in this climate, the US military must continue to be prepared for traditional operations while simultaneously adapting to the diverse, constantlyevolving strategies of our opponents. IRREGULAR CONFLICTS Although the US military remains committed to maintaining our capacity for traditional warfare, military leaders recognize that irregular approaches have become the prevailing mode of conflict. According to the National Defense Strategy 2005, irregular conflicts are driven by non-state actors, operating in the absence of a strong central government, who are willing to use disruptive and catastrophic means to impose a prohibitive human, material, financial, and political cost upon the US and our allies. Political, religious, and ethnic extremism often fuel such conflicts, and such zealous adversaries are inclined to take a long-term view, slowly working to undermine regional stability, instigate fear and chaos, and dominate the hearts and minds of the people. RAPID operational tempo As a general rule, history suggests that the side who adapts more swiftly will likely be more successful. This adage holds particular relevance for irregular conflicts. Given the decentralized nature of irregular adversaries, they possess a remarkable ability to rapidly evolve their tactics, techniques, and procedures. This reality has led Steven Metz, Ph.D. from the Army War College, to describe irregular conflicts as
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“deadly learning contests” where the most adaptable, rapidly-evolving side dominates. For our military, this means that the operational tempo (or pace at which operations are conducted) must increase in order to meet—and exceed—the pace at which our adversaries are evolving. NON-KINETIC “BATTLEFIELD” Irregular conflicts take place on both physical and sociopolitical battlefields. While the US dominates in kinetic or “hard power” conflicts, sociopolitical or “soft power” struggles present new challenges for our Armed Forces. Non-kinetic operations are those involving social, cultural, and psychologically-focused actions designed to diffuse regional tensions, build trust among the population, and better understand the political and cultural dimensions of the conflict. Non-kinetic actions affect all phases of the continuum of military operations, from Phase 0 (ongoing actions to build friendly relationships) to Phase 5 (supporting legitimate civil authorities in providing essential services to the populace). addressing these challenges through s&t The Science and Technology (S&T) community is rallying to address the challenges posed by hybrid warfare. The UCF-IST ACTIVE Lab, for instance, has undertaken several initiatives. For example, two efforts funded by the Office of Naval Research focus on accelerating the training of young personnel, particularly their higher-order thinking skills. Under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency effort, called “Warfighter Intuition,” we are using neurophysiological sensors to help understand how some personnel can think rapidly and intuitively on the battlefield. Finally, with support from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, we are also exploring improved approaches for social, cultural, and behavioral modeling. Our laboratory is certainly not alone in these endeavors. In the next section, S&T personnel from each of the branches discuss some of their projects designed to address the emerging requirements of our Armed Forces.
cover story Science and Technology representatives from each of the branches discuss some of their efforts to address the challenges of hybrid warfare.
Armed Forces—Adapting with... …widespread dismounted combat training stephen goldberg, phd
orlando research unit chief, army research institute
The contemporary operating environment for Army units in Afghanistan and Iraq emphasizes contingency operations in urban terrain. These operations place a greater focus on the use of dismounted forces as opposed to the employment of mobile platforms. Training for dismounted Soldiers has traditionally been conducted in the field at live Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) sites, small village-like clusters of buildings designed to mimic what dismounted forces will encounter overseas. These training areas incorporate roll player-natives of Middle Eastern countries who assist Soldiers in learning about the variety of people they will encounter once deployed. While MOUT sites have been effective training areas, they are limited in size and number. Due to the amount of deploying units and the diversity of missions, it is essential that we search for alternative training venues that can be more easily adapted to new areas and cultures. At the Army Research Institute (ARI), we have been exploring immersive simulation- and game-based training solutions as virtual alternatives to live environment training; however, virtual training for dismounted Soldiers presents difficult challenges. For instance, dismounted combatants— unlike vehicles—can move in many different ways and take many different postures. Also, dismounted combatants’ ability to see is not limited by vision blocks and sights. While it is difficult to immerse Soldiers in virtual worlds there are distinct benefits to doing so, not the least of which include pragmatic cost and safety issues. Interface devices represent a significant challenge to developing immerse dismounted training. ARI (in conjunction with partners at the Research, Development and Engineering Command’s (RDECOM) Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC)) has been evaluating Soldier performance in virtual environments using a number of different interface devices. We are currently contribut-
ing to a Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) capability demonstration program, which uses virtual reality technologies to provide Soldiers and Marines with training on cognitive decision making. This will be the largest test of virtual training for dismounted combatants to date. At the same time, we are also exploring new game technologies for lower cost and potentially geographically distributed training. One goal, in particular, is to develop an After Action Review (AAR) system that can capture performance data from a distributed network and have features necessary to present information to trainees at different locations. One of our labs uses a game-based simulation, Game Distributed Interactive Simulation (GDIS), developed by Research Network, Inc., which has proven to be both flexible and readily extensible. The Army faces significant challenges in training and preparing Soldiers for deployments, while at the same time maintaining a full-spectrum of combat readiness. Immersive and game-based simulations are capabilities that have the potential to provide training solutions to meet Army needs in this period of persistent conflict.
…a greater focus on small units maj brent goodrum, usmc,
operations officer, magtf training simulations division, training & education command
Today, our enemies are ruthless, agile, and relentless. They do not wear uniforms, they hide among the local populace, and they do not fight by conventional means. Meanwhile, our Marines are operating across a more dispersed battlespace in smaller task-organized elements in pursuit of these elusive hybrid threats. They are simultaneously attempting to bring peace and security to the locals living within that same battlespace. Due to these hybrid threats, our Marines must be adaptable and capable of making sound tactical, moral, and ethical decisions. This places an increased demand on developing the intuitive decision-making abilities of small units and their leaders. They must be trained and educated to take necessary and appropriate decisive actions based upon commander’s intent in the face of evolving threats within a dynamic operating environment. While strides continue to be made in the development of training systems that support individual skills development, neither existing resources nor current simulation technology sufficiently address the emerging requirements to train small units in collective skills focused on critical warfighter
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cover story decisions in a time sensitive and chaotic environment. To overcome this, Marine Corps leadership launched the Squad Immersive Training Environment (SITE) initiative. Started in 2006, SITE’s objective is to develop methodologies and technologies that enable dismounted infantry squads and squad leaders to effectively and realistically train across the range of military operations. This includes deliberate training to enhance team coordination and cognitive readiness. The primary goal of SITE is to provide a training environment that closely replicates the conditions that Marines will face in contemporary and anticipated operating environments. This envisioned training environment will offer realistic cultural interactions, support kinetic and non-kinetic actions, and provide opportunities for small unit leaders to make tactical, moral, and ethical decisions. In early 2008, the Marine Corps’ Training and Education Command (TECOM), along with several other significant stakeholders, began systematically reviewing training objectives and tasks, existing gaps in training capabilities, and current and programmed materiel and nonmateriel solutions. This process utilized the DoD directed Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) methodology. The results of this analytical assessment are formally documented in a SITE Initial Capabilities Document (ICD), delivered in late summer 2009. The ICD will serve as the principle requirements document enabling SITE to compete to become an official Marine Corps program of record, potentially as early as 2012. The ultimate vision for SITE is to develop a multifaceted “tool kit” that allows Commanders to train their small units and squad leaders across all phases of the training continuum (i.e., crawl, walk, run, and sustain). The preeminent element of this training capability may encompass highly-immersive training venues that realistically replicate the stimuli (e.g., sights, sounds, smells, human interactions, psychological stressors) found in today’s contemporary and projected operating environments. SITE will seek to provide small unit leaders the opportunity to see, practice, experience, and learn “what right might look like” in a hyperrealistic training environment prior to experiencing it in combat. The SITE initiative intends to fuse current, emerging, and future live, virtual, and constructive technologies to realize this vision. Once realized, it is believed that these capabilities will better prepare our squads and squad leaders for the many challenges they must face in today’s hybrid battlespace.
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…integrated LVC technologies robert rohlfing (col ret.)
strategic initiatives, air force agency for modeling & simulation
In today’s military environment, the hybrid warfare model places a strong focus on Irregular Warfare. In order to exert influence over the unstable regions in which irregular conflicts typically take place, it is essential that our Armed Forces be trained to handle complex threats prior to combat, execute robust mission rehearsals prior to pre-planned engagements, and assure command-and-control personnel take full advantage of sophisticated Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) data during operations—all capabilities where simulation can provide significant enhancement to the warfighter in Overseas Contingency Operations. To support training and mission rehearsal for such complex scenarios, the Air Force has embraced a program of persistent, on demand virtual training called Distributed Mission Operations (DMO). Technologies developed over the last decade to support DMO will someday support the full spectrum of Air Force operations as DMO expands to include weapon systems other than aviation assets. DMO is a major element of integrated live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) simulation which will enhance training through the addition of live ranges to include fifth generation weapon system capabilities, including the F-22 and F-35 as their training demands become more sophisticated, while simultaneously more difficult to exercise in restricted airspace. In addition to facilitating distributed training, the integrated LVC battlespace will enable the stimulation of real-world operational systems; provide advanced mission rehearsal capabilities; and support the entire range of tactical, operational, and strategic missions. Parts of this vision have already been realized. However, much work remains as some simulations are legacy systems requiring modernization to exercise the full-spectrum capabilities of the Air Force to support Irregular Warfare and the Joint Force Commander. Also, current LVC efforts are heavily focused on training, minimizing the impact on other functional communities who could benefit from an Air Force standardized LVC program. In concert with our efforts to more rapidly and accurately integrate live assets, the Air Force has a plan to expand LVC capabilities across the full range of simulation communities and systematically support Air Force concept development; acquisition and
cover story test; training and mission rehearsal; as well as a myriad of functional communities relying on simulation to augment or execute their mission. One major barrier to this vision is the lack of interoperability across legacy systems. Many of today’s LVC capabilities are often stovepiped solutions, lacking common architectural or technical approaches. To address this, the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS) is developing a five-year plan for an LVC Integrated Architecture (LVC-IA) that will serve as a single backbone for the breadth of Air Force missions utilizing LVC applications. The LVC-IA plan will specify standard architectures, databases, and model formats to support interoperability across a wide array of systems and will complement LVC efforts at each of the Services as well as Joint Forces Command. This integrated architecture is the lynch pin necessary for achieving the next generation of DMO and our vision for a unified LVC battlespace that supports not only Air Force training requirements, but also those of our Joint and Coalition partners.
…a new emphasis on the people ivy estabrooke, phd
program manager, office of naval research The shift from conventional to irregular warfare demands a new emphasis on people. Irregular warfare is conducted amongst the people instead of on traditional battlefields against uniformed militaries. In these conflicts, the adversary fights using irregular means, and it is often the population, not the government, who can support or deter insurgents and asymmetric actors. Succeeding in these environments requires greater understanding of populations’ social and cultural motivations, as well as new social/cultural methods to support the range of operational roles, from warfighters at the pointy end of the spear to senior officials making strategic decisions. For Marines and Soldiers in theater, it is imperative for them to understand the socio-cultural influences on behavior in order to understand the populace and discourage support for insurgents in a region. This raises several social/ cultural questions. For instance, should our troops appeal to the people’s moral values, employ economic incentives, or begin constructing schools? Further, how can individual personnel develop cultural skills, and how can we support the acquisition and dissemination of such cultural knowl-
“The categories of warfare are blurring and no longer fit into neat, tidy boxes. One can expect to see more tools and tactics of destruction—from the sophisticated to the simple—being employed simultaneously in hybrid and more complex forms of warfare.” —Robert M. Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense, January 2009 edge? A complementary challenge is the development of region-neutral cultural approaches. What happens if the area of operations changes? What methods and tools will enable Marines and Soldiers to survey the new environment and quickly determine which factors will influence the people? To address these needs, one approach is to supply culture-general and culture-specific training. Ultimately, warfighters would receive culture-general training through their normal course of schooling and then receive rapid culturespecific training upon deployment. To achieve this vision, the military must improve its systematic understanding of cultural behaviors, as well as develop appropriate techniques and technologies to support distribution and acquisition of this knowledge. The Office of Naval Research sees cultural skills training as a priority. For strategic planners, different questions arise. For instance, how do decision-makers know when an unstable region has reached a tipping-point, where tensions will turn into conflict? How can military planners determine when certain approaches, such as targeted economic measures against a hostile country, should be escalated? To address these needs, researchers are investigating the development of computational models that will assist operational planners to observe and forecast the social and cultural undercurrents of an area. The goal of this effort is to build sophisticated knowledge into simulations systems, thus providing analysts and decision-makers with tools to support their strategic awareness of the individual, social, and cultural influences on a region and help them explore the effects of kinetic and non-kinetic interventions. In all warfare, the enemy has a say; their tactics will always exert influence on our approach. The challenge for human, social, cultural, and behavioral researchers is to provide insight into populations’ motivations and beliefs and train our personnel to operate effectively in dynamically changing areas of operation. Developing such expertise across the military will not only support operational effectiveness and strategic decision-making but will also help our personnel rapidly react to regional instabilities, which may someday reduce the need for kinetic solutions.
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cover story & research Laboratories
modeling culture Summary of selected DoD efforts in HSCB modeling article summarized from the hscb program newsletter originally edited by jill egeth, phd, mitre corporation, jegeth@mitre.org Modern conflicts extend beyond the conventional battlefield and entail guerrilla encounters, police actions, improvised explosives, and other irregular assaults. More than ever, understanding our adversaries’ motivations and predicting their rapidly-evolving tactics is critical to mission success. Supporting non-kinetic actions, such as infrastructure building and stabilization, also represent vital components of modern military actions. For such reasons, the Department of Defense recently established a widespread Human Social Culture Behavior (HSCB) Modeling program. Military success against a determined enemy embedded within a foreign population can be achieved neither by applications of advanced technology, however adroit, nor by indiscriminate coercion, however violent. This HSCB program will support Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) efforts centered on using computational models to support operations analysis, intelligence analysis, training, and Joint experimentation for Irregular Warfare (IW) and Security, Stability, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations (SSTRO). The HSCB program falls under the auspices of the Director for Biosystems, Robert Foster, Ph.D., under the Director, Defense Research and Engineering. The HSCB Program Director is CAPT (Select) Dylan Schmorrow, USN, Ph.D., Assistant Director for Human Systems in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology. A handful of the HSCB projects are highlighted in this section. For more details, refer to the HSCB newsletter at http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA496310. Modeling Framework by Daniel Barber, UCF-IST ACTIVE
Individuals, groups, and societies can be modeled using a variety of technical approaches, including rule-based and expert systems, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and cognitive models. Each method has strengths but also weaknesses, such as computational complexity, focus on model-
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ing individuals, inability to learn from interactions with the environment, and so on. To overcome these limitations the UCF-IST ACTIVE Laboratory is developing a hybrid modeling framework that merges the different techniques across a network, and then, depending on the conditions of use, makes the most appropriate models available for the end system. This hybrid framework, called the Intelligent Resource Operational Network (IRON), will be designed in three phases. The team has already identified a taxonomy of cultural dimensions to drive general HSCB systems. Next, investigators plan to categorize existing modeling approaches, as well as their strengths and weaknesses and how they may be linked together. In the final phase, the team will develop a prototype HSCB-IRON system for experimentation, evaluation, and use within the larger HSCB program. Simulation Development Original by Glenn Taylor, Soar technology, inc.
Soar Technology and colleagues are developing a planning support tool for tactical influence operations, called the Target Audience Simulation Kit for Influence Operations (TASK-IO). TASK-IO will integrate theory-based computational models of social, cognitive, and cultural phenomena to simulate a “virtual target audience.” Once complete, the simulation will enable decision-makers to quickly explore how a certain population process, perceive, and respond to various actions. TASK-IO will use Soar Technology’s Cultural Cognitive Architecture, a hybrid modeling framework that incorporates theories of culture and cognition. The researchers plan to extend the architecture to focus additionally on the social psychology of consumer behavior. This blending of socialcultural, cognitive, and marketing science reflects a new approach to thinking about influence. A key concept in consumer behavior research is the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), which hypothesizes the
Laboratories & research Paul F. Gorman, General, US Army (Ret.) relationship between how people perceive, evaluate, and respond to inputs (e.g., advertisements). TRA has been useful in predicting a range of consumer behavior, including the effectiveness of anti-smoking campaigns and weight loss programs—each of which are examples of “marketing influence.” The TASK-IO team intends to extend this research and integrate findings with their tool kit, in order to simulate how foreign target audiences perceive and evaluate the influence activities of US Forces. Assessment Process Original by Gary L. Klein, PhD, MITRE
All models are wrong in that they are always only an abstraction, a simplification of the real world. Because they deal with some of the most complex aspects of our world, Human Social Cultural Behavior (HSCB) models can be especially wrong in a number of ways, and will require appropriate technical assessments and usage to be most useful. A key element of the HSCB program will be the implementation of a technical assessment process that will help establish confidence in the program models, and help with selection of efforts for continued funding. Many of the social science models have been developed for academic and scientific use. Assessing these models is nontrivial. By their nature their development requires a multidisciplinary perspective, usually social scientists articulating theories and gathering relevant data and computer scientists creating the software model. Other disciplines may also be involved, such as statistics, artificial intelligence, and data mining/ machine learning. The HSCB program validation process includes three major components •• A tailored technical assessment process •• Project-defined progress assessments •• Operational demonstrations These systematic assessments and demonstrations will help develop confidence in the usefulness of HSCB models, which ultimately will lead to their viable transition into regular operational usage.
Excerpts from his address at the HSCB Technical Meeting, 4 February 2009
Science-based modeling of exogenous cultures has long been an elusive target for academia and for government analysts. A successful OSD program for maturing, hardening, then validating and verifying human, social, cultural, and behavioral models and simulations will clearly be most advantageous for our military forces in the Long War ahead of them. In 1963 while serving on the Army General Staff, I was sent into the dungeons of the Pentagon to lead a team preparing a study entitled “Worldwide Integrated National Strategy II,” known as WINS Two. When WINS Two emerged from the basement, senior Army leaders averred that they found it useful, and approved most of its recommendations. However, those measures were subsumed by Vietnam before they could be enacted. In that era, some Army contemporaries considered study of foreign culture a professional diversion, a threat to the warrior ethic, a detour from soldiering. Such attitudes persist; you will no doubt encounter a few bluster and grunt holdouts. You should find it easier to convince incumbents than did we in my day. Present day leaders of the armed services of the United State have learned what their predecessors once knew well: military success against a determined enemy embedded within a foreign population can be achieved neither by applications of advanced technology, however adroit, nor by indiscriminate coercion, however violent. Rather, that population has to be regarded as an invaluable source of information on adversaries, and treated humanely in a manner that minimally avoids overt hostility, and optimally obtains cooperation. This approach is not only humane, but militarily functional, serving the traditional American object beyond the war: to convert our most bitter enemies into friends and allies. Current military doctrine embodies such concepts. As you proceed to devise models and simulations to support military doctrine, you should understand that “doctrine” is an operative term: referring not only to what is written, but also to what is persistently taught in training, thereby to assure the consensus that, amid violence, facilitates cooperation among components of American Forces. The current expression of Army doctrine, Field Manual 3-0, published one year ago this month, enjoins commanders to go beyond defining “rules of engagement” to integrating their objectives for the populace into their plans and operations for achieving and sustaining stability: 1-12. The operational environment will be extremely fluid, with continually changing coalitions, alliances, partnerships, and actors. Interagency and joint operations will be required to deal with this wide and intricate range of players occupying the environment, complex cultural, demographic, and physical environmental factors will be present, adding to the fog of war. Such factors include humanitarian crises, ethnic and religious differences, and complex and urban terrain, which often become major centers of gravity and a haven for potential threats. The operational environment will be interconnected, dynamic, and extremely volatile.
Hence, your task, as I understand it, is to provide models and simulations that capture this fluidity, this dynamism, and thereby to provide the armed services tools for conducting training, and preparing leaders for sound decisions in combat. I wish you success. May you early and often be able to improve military readiness for the Long War.
Laboratories & research
human-robot interaction The future of robotic control: Natural, intuitive communication daniel barber,
ucf-ist active, dbarber@ist.ucf.edu rdecom-sttc, neal.finkelstein@us.army.mil
neal m. finkelstein, phd,
Over the past few years, advances in robot capabilities have lead to the development of extremely complicated operator-control systems, which place substantial demands on the robot’s operators. Currently, if a squad of Soldiers wants to deploy a robot to investigate a building for hostile forces, they must use a remote-controlled asset that one of the team members actively operates and monitors; this essentially monopolizes that Soldier’s attention, generally preventing him/her from performing other actions. This issue, among others, has become a significant bottleneck in the advancement of
Daniel Barber demonstrates accelerometer-based gestural control of robots using a Segway RMP funded by RDECOM-STTC Photo by Joy Martinez, UCF-IST ACTIVE
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human–robotic interaction. We must rethink the nature of human–robotic interaction. Robots should be integrated into mixed-initiative teams, where the robots are treated as fully-fledged team members—not as remotely-controlled assets. For instance, in the future, a Soldier could issue a command to a robotic teammate (in the same way that the Solider would direct a human compatriot), and then the robot would execute the order and provide feedback without an operator querying it for data or constantly monitoring its video-feed. To make this concept a reality, robots will need to understand the multimodal signals that military personnel use to explicitly and implicitly communicate human-to-human. Explicit modalities may include speech, touch, or arm and hand gestures. Implicit cues could be detected through psycho-physiological indicators (e.g., brain activity via an EEG), facial signals, or postural gestures. EXPLICIT CONTROLS Taking advantage of natural communication modalities is necessary to reduce the cognitive demands on human personnel, and using standard protocols (such as arm and hand signals) will prevent soldiers from having to learn specialized robot-control schemes. Some natural, explicit control systems have already been demonstrated in laboratory settings. For example,
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the Army’s Research Development and Engineering Commands (RDECOM) SFC Paul Ray Smith Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC) funded work on small, portable accelerometer-based devices that a person can use to signal to other team members (human or robot) without requiring line-of-site. The signals can then be translated into commands that a robot can interpret or converted to a different modality, such as haptic feedback (via vibro-tactile belts), that human team members can understand. Recently, such devices were tested in a virtual world. The accelerometers recognized standard arm-and-hand gestures and translated the gestures into the simulation. This enabled individuals to coordinate with physicallydistributed human participants. This same technology has also been used for interactions with various unmanned ground vehicles using simple gestures to guide an asset through an obstacle course. In the near future, this capability could not only provide a natural interface for human–robotic interaction, but it may also help human personnel silently coordinate in hostile environments. A perfect example of using arm-and-hand gestures is a vehicle control point where soldiers must direct traffic. With the ability to interpret these signals, an unmanned asset can respond the same way any other vehicle would, without the need for a joystick or computer station.
Laboratories & research IMPLICIT CONTROLS Implicit communication may give robotic entities insight into the physical and cognitive states of their human teammates. By monitoring facial and postural cues, a robot can infer information, such as the importance of a command or whether the robot has misinterpreted a previous order. Also, the ability to interpret psycho-physiological data suggests that robotic agents may be able to monitor their teammate’s workload and then detect when individuals are under duress or need assistance. Imagine, for example, that a robot is carrying out a search command and detects that its team’s workload levels have suddenly increased, potentially indicating that they are in danger. The robot could then query for feedback from the commander or return automatically to its team to provide additional direct support.
MULTIMODAL CONTROLS In the future, the warfighter will interact with robots using combinations of explicit and implicit communication just as humans use multiple cues (e.g. facial, posture, eye gaze) when speaking with each other. For example, when in a combat situation with gun fire, voice communication may fail, but with the redundancy provided by arm-and-hand gestures, an unmanned asset will still understand what is needed to accomplish the mission. Conversely, a soldier can trust that his/ her robot teammate acknowledged and
understood commands by receiving feedback via a combination of audio, vibro-tactile feedback, and robot gestures. Robots will have a shared model of the world that is consistent with their human counter-part and be able to share their assessment in a clear intuitive manner. While in a combat, there can be no ambiguity in commands. Clear and intuitive communication between humans and robots like those described here will promote trust between team members resulting in improved collaboration and safer operations.
Team performance with robotic weaponry eric ortiz,
ucf-ist active, eortiz@ist.ucf.edu & maj jon stevens, rdecom-sttc, jonathan.stevens@us.army.mil Human–robot collaboration has the potential to make our warfighters more efficient in theater. However, it is not yet known how unmanned systems will impact mixed-initiative team operations in combat situations. In studying such team interaction, we hope to discover how the presence of a remote weapon system (RWS) affects the human team members’ effectiveness and whether its presence causes any unfavorable reactions. Presently, UCF-IST’s ACTIVE Lab and RDECOM-STTC are collaboratively exploring how mixed-
Soldiers from the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart participate in marksmanship simulator along with an RWS (shown above in lane 3) Photo by Daniel Barber, UCF-IST ACTIVE
initiative teams, specifically Fire Teams, interact with RWS prototypes. The Engagement Skills Trainer 2000 (EST 2000) marksmanship simulation is serving as the immersive testbed for these experiments. In it, personnel use life-like weapons that mimic their real-world counterparts. During the experiment, trained Army Fire Teams engage in a series of marksmanship scenarios. Then an unmanned, non-autonomous RWS prototype is injected into the mix and teleoperated by one of the team
members from another room. The Solider operating the RWS can view the simulation via a live video, and can operate the RWS to fire on targets in real-time. The goal of this investigation is to find out whether the presence of the unmanned weapon affects the efficiency and accuracy of the team. Initial results are promising, suggesting that one day human fire teams can be successfully augmented by the integration of unmanned remote weapons systems.
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Laboratories & research
wearable neurosensors lance j. myers, phd,
archinoetics, llc, lance@archinoetics.com
A wireless PANOS solution The modern warfighter is increasingly engaging in unconventional and complex situations under extreme demands. There is thus significant interest in making real-world cognitive and physical performance assessments of human operators. To date, a variety of non-invasive measurement devices and analysis algorithms are available to provide physiological status information in controlled laboratory settings. These systems are typically wired to a power source, processing and display unit, making them cumbersome and restraining free activity. However, within the last decade, revolutionary advances have been made to transition these technologies to realistic, unrestrained field use. This has resulted in the advent of wearable monitoring devices. Wearable monitoring systems are comfortable and can be incorporated into the wearer’s clothing or worn as an accessory. They are operational and accessible with minimal interference to user activity. State of the art wearable systems include: Garments containing nonadhesive, conductive fabric ECG’s (ZephyrTech, Hidalgo, NuMetrix); Garments incorporating woven fabric strain gauges or inductance plethsysmography respiration bands (LifeShirt, ZephyTech, Equivital); Armband GSR (SenseWear); Ring PPG and oxygen saturation (MIT); Ear-piece PPG (Imperial College); Impedance cardiography chest patch (Corventis);
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Personal Area Network of Sensors (PANOS) platform
A selection of wearable wireless sensors are added to the user as needed. All sensors communicate with the central wrist-worn hub, which may further transmit meaningful, processed information.
Small attachable accelerometer pods (Archinoetics); EEG headsets or headbands (Quasar, Emotiv, Emsense, Thought Technologies); and fNIR in a helmet (Archinoetics). Although substantial advances toward practical ambulatory measurements have been made, many wearable sensors still connect via troublesome wires to central acquisition and processing units. This is especially true when users desire to measure multiple physiological channels simultaneously. Archinoetics, under sponsorship by ONR’s Human Performance Training & Education (HPT&E) program, has solved this problem with the development of a wireless, wearable sensor platform. The Archinoetics Personal Area Network of Sensors
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(PANOS) platform allows an individual to be monitored with any combination of a variety of non-invasive and wearable wireless sensors placed on or around the body. See figure above. The core CPU or hub of this system is a small, light-weight processing, storage and display unit. It can simultaneously acquire, integrate and synchronize multiple wireless measurement sensors. It has the computing power to run complex real-time processing algorithms to provide meaningful cognitive and physical status information. The Archinoetics PANOS system thus enables continuous ambulatory assessment of physical, cognitive and health status information outside of the laboratory and in real-world environments.
Laboratories & research
patrolling the far north sae schatz, phd, ucf-ist active, sschatz@ist.ucf.edu interview with allan keefe & tony ghoman, drdc toronto,
allan.keefe, tony.ghoman@drdc-rddc.gc.ca
Canadian Forces seek solutions for controlling Canada’s northern territory The Canada First Defence Strategy outlines a detailed roadmap for the modernization of the Canadian Forces. Based upon extensive analysis, the report describes a range of potential threats facing Canada in the years to come, from terrorist assaults to ice storms. Controlling Canada’s vast northern regions is among the issues of concern. Most of the Canadian population resides along the country’s southern border, and the nearest air base is located roughly 4000 km (about 2500 mi) from its northern territory. Consequently, it is difficult for Canadian Forces to consistently monitor or rapidly mobilize to vast stretches of Canada’s landmass. Canada First suggests that the North will play an increasingly vital role in the future, and the report warns that this area could be the target of aggressive actions, subject to natural disasters, or the backdrop to search-and-rescue operations. Presently, CF-18 Hornets are deployed when personnel must mobilize to the North. However, getting these jets to the target requires valuable time, and the region’s scale prohibits the pilots from fully exercising control over the area. The harsh weather conditions, lack of suitable landing locations, and sparse fuel caches further complicate the matter. To address these challenges, Canadian Forces have actively enlisted the research and
development community to assist with the acquisition of its next-generation of fighter aircraft. Thus far, a key recommendation for dealing with the complexities of such a vast, desolate territory is
Two aircraft from 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 3 Wing Bagotville fly over l’arrondissement Chicoutimi of ville de Saguenay. Photo by Private Pierre Thériault
to couple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with next-generation aircraft. These unmanned assets will carry sensor equipment, search-and-rescue gear, munitions payloads, or fuel reservoirs (for air-to-air refueling of the piloted aircraft). Each pilot would interact with one or more UAVs in order to receive extended surveillance data, deploy specialized payloads (such as launching a mini-sub), or perform other unique actions. Clearly, the idea of fighter pilots simultaneously interacting with manned and unmanned assets raises many questions. For instance, from a human factors perspective, how will pilots control and monitor UAVs while effectively flying their
own manned aircraft? What display strategies, negotiated control schemes, or artificial intelligence approaches can be leveraged? Ethical questions also arise. For example, if a remotely-controlled unmanned asset carries a munitions payload, who has the authority to approve its delivery? Who is accountable when networks of operators and uninhabited entities perform an integrated action? Science and technology personnel from Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), part of the Canadian Department of National Defence, are examining such critical issues from a systems perspective, attempting to address the range of technological, doctrinal, and human factors issues during the conceptual phase—before acquisitions are made. Simulation is playing a substantial role in this process, from exploring various use-case scenarios to experimenting with different pilotcontrol interfaces. Through research and simulation-based analysis DRDC is helping the Canadian Forces make better acquisitions decisions and to plan for the second- and third-order impacts of those decisions on the overall Defence system. For information about the Canada First Defence Strategy or to download a copy of the report, go to www.forces. gc.ca. For further details about DRDC, go to www.drdc-rddc.gc.ca.
warfighter warfighter enhancement enhancement activities activities
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cover story & research Laboratories
an expert approach jean macmillan, jared freeman, webb stacy, emily wiese, jeanine ayers & alexandra geyer /
jmacmillan, freeman, wstacy, ewiese, jayers, ageyer@aptima.com
aptima, inc.
Adaptive Training in Virtual Environments
Simulation-based instruction—immersive, complex, situation-based training occurring in a virtual environment— offers great opportunities for learning. However, the majority of existing simulation-based training systems do not realize the full pedagogical potential of their technology, particularly for large-scale training efforts. Most simulationbased training is currently mediated by human experts. Training goals and objectives are often implicit and are contingent on human expertise, scenarios are not explicitly linked to objectives, and trainee performance is evaluated qualitatively, rather than being measured by actions within the simulation and assessed with regard to overall objectives. While this expertintensive approach can be effective for small homogenous co-located teams, it does not scale up well to larger distributed virtual training settings. At Aptima we have developed methods and technologies to maximize training effectiveness in distributed exercises through the sequencing and design of immersive experiences. An important ingredient of any adaptive training approach is a way to reliably measure trainee performance. Many virtual environments are rich in data pertaining to the trainees, but it is less common to be able to translate those data into meaningful trainee performance measures. To address this problem, we have developed an approach to working with experts to define reliable and meaningful performance measures. We have also developed performance measurement technology that lets instructors define, create, collect, combine, and use measures from data provided by observers, by the virtual environment, by the trainees them-
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selves, and even by physiological and neurophysiological instruments worn by the trainees. This technology is currently in use in a wide variety of military settings. With trainee performance measures in hand, the next key task is to use them to adapt the training to the specific needs of the trainee. Our approach, developed in conjunction with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, is to choose the best subsequent training objective given the trainee’s current level of performance. The technology uses a mathematical model to diagnose trainee performance shortfalls and exploits that diagnosis to sequence subsequent experiences for optimal learning. Experimental results show that this model-driven instructional strategy reliably increases team performance in a command and control task. Optimal selection of the next training objective and user experience generally implies a new vignette in the scenario. To meet this need, Aptima has worked with the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division to develop a scenario engineering system that schedules the new vignette into the scenario without disturbing the training experiences of other trainees. It also adapts to unforeseen developments in the scenario. If the scenario does not unfold as planned, as is often the case in complex multi-person training environments, the technology identifies scenario changes that will preserve as much as possible of the intended training. We believe that these and other technologies that enable adaptive training in virtual environments will make an increasingly important contribution to the readiness of our warfighters.
Laboratories & research
culturepad
aaron pepe, phd,
chi systems, inc., apepe@chisystems.com
The Department of Defense (DoD) has successfully applied a number of methods for cultural familiarization training ranging from stand-up classroom training, to face-to-face live role-play, to so-called smart-cards. Recent interest has turned to the use of single and multi-player gaming technologies to augment these traditional methods of cultural familiarization. One such system, termed CulturePad, has been designed by CHI Systems Inc. as a game-based distributed role-play environment suitable for use in training and experimentation involving cultural scenarios. CulturePad allows a group of distributed students to role-play in realistic three-dimensional virtual environments, practicing verbal and non-verbal forms of communication for cultural, interpersonal and communication skill-building. Current research with CulturePad involves the use of roleplay to elicit cross-cultural behaviors, sociological and cultural issues related Screen shot of the Culture Pad Software to group interactions, verbal and non-verbal forms of communication, and the use of a game-environment as a mediating form of interaction. Based on research so far, we have found that two key elements are responsible for an effective application of cultural role-play in a simulated environment. First, proper preparation and guidance in creating and enacting role-play based training are important. CulturePad includes an extensive scenario creation toolkit which allows the creation of mission packets for each of the characters in the role-play discussing background information and talking points for the student. Second, the type of game-based interface is significant in enabling the user to convey and appreciate the cultural and interpersonal aspects of the role-play interaction. Current efforts are under way to explore multiple hardware and software interface configurations to increase the immersion and cultural training effectiveness of simulated role-play. CulturePad is based on CHI Systems’ VECTOR® platform which reduces the cost of developing interpersonal and communication skills-based training applications, allows applications to be easily disseminated to a large numbers of users, and enables end-user content creation via scenario editing tools.
augcog & learning
jennifer vogel-walcutt, phd,
jvogel@ist.ucf.edu &
stephanie lackey, phd, slackey@ist.ucf.edu
ucf-ist active
As a recent ACTIVE Lab initiative, the Adaptive Intelligent Training Environment’s (AITE) goal was to develop a cohesive program of research that explored Augmented Cognition issues in learning contexts. Through the integration of cognitive neuroscience and learning science research, the AITE team built a system capable of diagnosing a learner’s cognitive state in real time and then appropriately adapting a computer-based learning system in response. The program focused on pairing multiple psychophysiological sensors with micro-adaptive instructional simulations. A final demonstration of capabilities was presented in July 2009. For this demonstration, AITE prototypes were integrated with the Deployable Virtual Training Environment (DVTE), a multi-user laptop-based simulation suite fielded world-wide by the Marine Corps. This created a closed-loop learning system that adapts to participants’ neurophysiological processes, such as workload and engagement levels. With AITE coming to a close, Augmented Cognition efforts have expanded and present investigations are now directed towards measuring and interpreting the range of cognitive processes that impact learning. Using the AITE system in future experimentation will allow researchers to determine the effectiveness of this method of diagnosis and intervention across a wide variety of learning states. AugCog and Learning efforts promise to continue exploring emerging scientific challenges within this exciting field.
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in brief FITE JCTD Rehearsals Underway pete muller,
ptc, muller@potomactrainingcorp.com
In September 2009, the Future Immersive Training Environment’s (FITE) Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program held a successful demonstration and rehearsal of its Spiral 1 technologies at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Marines from the 1st Battalion 1st Marines participated in five days of system testing, which were observed by academic, industry, and government representatives who offered collaborative insights. The FITE JCTD is a two-year, $36 million dollar program sponsored by the US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) with technical management provided by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). It was created to address critical joint warfighter infantry training needs. Over the next twelve months, several demonstrations of FITE advanced infantry immersion technologies will take place across the country. Spiral 1 of the program will culminate in the effort’s first operational demonstrations, scheduled for early 2010 in Marines immersed in the FITE JCTD Camp Lejeune, NC and Immersive Virtual Reality Testbed. Fort Benning, GA. Spiral Photo by Pete Muller 1 focuses on Immersive Virtual Reality and it employs a virtual environment generated by VBS-2, a Head Worn Display (HWD), headphones, body-worn computer, networking, instrumentation, and a simulated weapon. Spiral 1 emphasizes the training of complex decision-making through carefully designed scenarios. Subject Matter Experts and cognitive psychologists created the scenarios after conducting interviews with Marines and Soldiers who have recently served in Iraq or Afghanistan. At the end of FY 2010, the FITE JCTD will conduct its Spiral 2 demo in Camp Pendleton, which focuses on Mixed and Augmented Reality. Additional information on the FITE JCTD can be found at www.fitejctd.com.
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Revising the DoD M&S Glossary brian goldiez, phd,
ucf-ist, bgoldiez@ist.ucf.edu
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) has contracted the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Simulation and Training (UCF-IST) to update the Department of Defense (DoD) Modeling and Simulation (M&S) Glossary (see DOD 5000.59-M). First published in 1998, the original document covers a limited range of DoD M&S applications and focuses primarily on simulation for training. It does not include important contemporary issues, such as advanced distributed learning, or other critical topics, including human factors for simulation. Under the direction from the Modeling and Simulation Coordination Office (MSCO) and the Joint Training Integration and Evaluation Center (JTIEC), UCF-IST has been updating the glossary as well as collecting suggested edits from a range of DoD M&S stakeholders. The leadership from each OSD M&S community has been asked for recommendations. Archival references were also requested from faculty at academic organizations (including UCF, Old Dominion University, Georgia Tech, University of Alabama (Huntsville), and the Naval Post Graduate School). UCF-IST delivered a first draft of the revised glossary in August 2009. Throughout the fall, government and military personnel reviewed the document, and UCF-IST will make final revisions towards the end of 2009. The updated glossary will be delivered for final review in early 2010. All members of the M&S community may contribute to this endeavor. Any interested person may submit recommended edits or additions to Brian Goldiez, Ph.D. (bgoldiez@ist.ucf.edu). DoD personnel may additionally participate in the peer-review process through the DoD’s Standards Vetting Tool (contact MSCO’s Amy Henninger, Ph.D., (amy.henninger@osd.mil) or JTIEC’s Paul Dumanoir (paul.dumanoir@us.army.mil) for more information). This effort was facilitated by the Research Academia and Operational Support (RAOS) contract established between UCF-IST and the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM). The RAOS enables Defense Agencies to more rapidly contract and collaborate with UCF-IST and other Team Orlando entities.
pro ect highlights
in brief NPS M&S Certificates
New Masters in M&S Online
Modeling and Simulation (M&S) tools are playing increasingly important roles in the DoD Acquisition and Test & Evaluation workforce. In 2007, the Naval Postgraduate School was tasked to develop a comprehensive educational program focused on consumers of M&S across the Department of Defence (DoD) and industry. With enthusiastic support from the program sponsors, the Naval Postgraduate School’s Systems Engineering Department partnered with six US academic leaders in the field of M&S to develop a wide array of full, short, and Web-based M&S courses to support M&S DoD workforce communities. These six universities include: The University of Alabama in Huntsville, The University of California at San Diego, The University of Central Florida, Old Dominion University, George Mason University, and Johns Hopkins University. In fall 2009, a total of 16 academic courses, ranging across the M&S spectrum, became available in the public domain. Ten of these courses have been condensed into continuous learning modules for publication through the Defense Acquisition University. Each course is packaged as either a full or short academic course that can be customized to fit into any instructor’s education plan. Course packages include PowerPoint slides, supplemental materials, reference lists, and exams. A secured Web-based management system will be established to allow for US Universities, DoD organizations, and US industry educators to access the materials for implementation into their own programs. Instructions for acquiring course materials will be posted on the project Web site once courses are complete. A list of nationwide M&S programs for students seeking enrollment opportunities will also be provided online. Current programs under development include an NPS/ UCSD partnership to offer an M&S certificate program, and an ‘M&S and Analysis Professional Education Series’ offered through Old Dominion University. Information on these select programs is available online. Please visit the project Web site at www.nps.edu/msacq for details and opportunities and/or send all inquiries to the Naval Postgraduate School at msacq@nps.edu.
Working professionals can expand their business knowledge and skills in modeling and simulation through a new Professional Science Master’s degree offered by the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s (ERAU) Worldwide Campus. Through this unique collaboration, the two universities are able to offer a curriculum that blends business and technical courses designed for working professionals who want to pursue their degrees part-time. The program is offered every fall and should require two years to complete. Included are a graduate internship, eight technical courses delivered online by UCF, and four business classes offered by ERAU that are available both online and in a classroom setting at more than 130 of the university’s worldwide locations. The business classes also qualify students for ERAU’s graduate certificate in simulation management. Five of the eight courses in the UCF master’s component will be offered by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Science. Faculty from the university’s Institute for Simulation & Training (IST) will offer the remaining three. Dr. J. Peter Kincaid (pkincaid@ ist.ucf.edu) of IST and Dr. Larry Carlton (larry.carlton@erau.edu) of ERAU co-direct the program. Students enroll online in each university’s graduate school. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not required for enrollment, but those who enter the program are expected to demonstrate academic preparation and/or work experience in an appropriate technical area, such as engineering, computer science, or another simulation-related discipline. Applicants must also have fulfilled the prerequisite graduatelevel engineering statistics course or its equivalent. Tuition is $500 per credit hour. A complete description of the program and curriculum, including enrollment information, can be found at the IST Web site: www.ist.ucf.edu/PSMdegree.
stephanie few,
nps, smfew@nps.edu
randall williams,
ucf-ist, rwilliam@ist.ucf.edu
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pro ect highlights
in brief UCF Takes First Place at the ASVC daniel barber,
ucf-ist active, dbarber@ist.ucf.edu
UCF’s “S.S. Boatname” unmanned watercraft triumphed at this year’s Autonomous Surface Vehicle Competition. Photo by Daniel Barber.
For the second year in a row, the Robotics Club at the University of Central Florida has won the Autonomous Surface Vehicle Competition (ASVC). This annual student competition, sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the Office of Naval Research, challenges teams to build autonomous watercraft that can complete a series of tasks without any human intervention. The challenges resemble real military unmanned vehicle operations: navigation through openings in gates, obstacle avoidance, docking, firing at on-shore targets, and search and rescue. The UCF team’s vehicle, called the S.S. Boatname, completed the most tasks, thereby earning the team the highest score, first place in the competition, and $6000 in prize money. The Robotics Club at UCF is sponsored by Research Development and Engineering Commands (RDECOM) Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC) and the Institute for Simulation and Training (IST). The winning team included team-captain Ross Kerley, Chris Bunty, Travis Goldberg, Jonathan Mohlenhoff, Mike Podel, Cassondra Puklavage, and Justin Wiseman. The team’s Graduate Student Advisor was Gary Stein, and the Club’s Faculty Advisor is Daniel Barber. For more information about the Robotics Club at UCF, go to http:// robotics.ucf.edu, and for more details on the ASVC, visit www.auvsi.org/competitions/surface.cfm.
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Military M&S Symposium ltc robert kewley, phd,
army, robert.kewley@usma.edu
The Military Modeling and Simulation Symposium, March 22–25 2009, brought together a unique blend of academic scholars, simulation practitioners, and technical experts in Mission Hills, San Diego. The international team of Paul Roman from Canada’s Royal Military College and Rob Kewley from West Point led the planning and coordination for the symposium. Tom Hurt, from the US Army’s RDECOM, delivered the keynote address. His presentation highlighted a large organization’s approach to Modeling & Simulation (M&S). RDECOM’s practices promote centralized planning and coordination of M&S resources and emphasize a systems engineering approach that drives M&S efforts. The rest of the session featured several panels and key events from across the military simulation community. The first panel, a team of Denise Nicholson, Sae Schatz, Clint Bowers, Wayne Zachary, Jennifer Fowlkes and Dick Stottler, focused on techniques for developing scenario-based training to teach higher-level critical skills needed in today’s complex military environments. The following morning, Amela Sadagic, from the Naval Postgraduate School, led a discussion about large scale adoption of game-based training in organizations. Other special events included Army’s OneSAF 3.0 release by Rob Wittman from PEO STRI and a demonstration of the use of Virtual Battlespace 2 by Rob Dees from West Point. An outstanding set of paper sessions included themes such as game-based training, systems engineering and simulation, and simulation for cyber warfare training using virtual machines. Andrew Stricker and Larry Clemmons from the US Air Force’s Air University gave a fascinating demonstration of MyBase. Daniel Rice, Borgman Alicia, Adam Peloquin and Robert Auer won the best paper award for their work on ontological representations of soldier encumbrance. Planning is already underway for the 2010 MMS Symposium in Orlando, Florida from 11–15 April. High quality papers are being solicited already—go to www.scs. org/confernc/springsim/springsim10/springsim10.htm for more details. We will see you in Orlando.
pro ect highlights
in brief BRIMS 2010 Call for Papers
2009 Spirit of Innovation Award
You are invited to participate in the 19th Conference on Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation (BRIMS), held in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. BRIMS enables modeling and simulation research scientists, engineers, and technical communities across disciplines to meet, share ideas, identify capability gaps, discuss cuttingedge research directions, highlight promising technologies, and showcase the state-of-the-art in applications. The BRIMS Conference will consist of many exciting elements in 2010, including special topic areas, technical paper sessions, special symposia/panel discussions, invited guest speakers, and sponsor sessions. The BRIMS Executive Committee invites papers, posters, demos, symposia, panel discussions, and tutorials on topics related to the representation of individuals, groups, teams and organizations in models and simulations. BRIMS 2010 welcomes papers on all topics related to modeling and simulation, and there is special interest in topics related to socio-cultural modeling, neurobiological and biologically inspired cognitive modeling, models of terrorist decision-making for IED placement, models of civilian-insurgent interaction, situation awareness and decision-making for ISTAR ops, and model validation and comparison. All submissions are peer-reviewed. Visit http://brimsconference.org for details.
In June of 2007, the Augmented Cognition Technical Group (ACTG) officially became a part of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Executive Council. At this year’s 2009 HFES meeting, Lauren ReinermanJones, Ph.D., presented ACTG’s 3rd annual Spirit of Innovation Award to Glenn Wilson, Ph.D. The award was named in honor of Leland S. Kollmorgen, a legend within the AugCog field, highly respected for his insights, energy, and dedication to his UCF-IST’s Dr. Lauren Reinerman-Jones, ACTG 2010 program chair, presents the profession and his Spirit of Innovation Award to Dr. Glenn country. The award Wilson at the 2009 HFES meeting. recognizes exceptional scientists and engineers who have made substantial and innovative contributions to AugCog. In RADM Kollmorgen’s own words: “It is certainly a pleasure to see Glenn’s significant contributions to AugCog being recognized by his peers. Glenn qualifies as an AugCog pioneer and worthy contributor to the success of the program. His technical expertise was sought by several of the AugCoger’s (if that is a word) as he made the first successful EEG “neuro-gauges” for measuring cognitive workload in real time. This was a significant contribution to the program. His work with fNIR made it possible for a Boeing to integrate that device into the Cognitive Helmet for the Boeing–AFRL Wright Pat Team. The streamlined helmet became a hallmark of sorts for the team. It was through Glenn’s interest and support that this team was forged and successful... Glenn, Well Done!”
webb stacy, phd,
aptima, inc., wstacy@aptima.com
2010 Conference Key Dates: All submissions due: Tutorial Acceptance: Authors Notification: Final Version Due: Tutorials Held: BRIMS 2010:
December 21, 2009 February 1, 2010 February 1, 2010 February 19, 2010 March 22, 2010 March 23‑25, 2010
staff,
ucf-ist active, active@ist.ucf.edu
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Technology, Psychology, and Health a PSI Book Series
edited by Schmorrow & Nicholson
Order your own copy of the Handbook www.greenwood.com orders@greenwood.com Call: 800-225-5800 Fax: 877-231-6980
Praeger Security International’s new Technology, Psychology and Health Development series was established in order to provide a comprehensive consolidation and dissemination of psychology and technology developments from numerous fields, including neuroscience, cognitive psychology, biomedical engineering, computer science, and systems engineering. The series showcases substantial advances in research and development, their resulting technologies, and how the cross-disciplinary teams apply these technologies in diverse application areas. The first books in the series were the three-volume Handbook of Virtual Environments for Training & Education (edited by Schmorrow, Cohn, & Nicholson). The Handbook provides, for the first time, comprehensive coverage of the many different domains that must be integrated in order for virtual environments to fully provide an effective training and education solution. Published: 11/30/2008
upcoming edited volumes Two new edited volumes are underway and will be available shortly. The next volume in the series, Human Performance Enhancements in High Risk Environments: Insights Developments, and Future Directions from Military Research, will be released in 2010. It will focus on key enablers of high-reliability organizations, including selection, training, safety, and design. The following book, Combat Stress Resilience: From Theory to Practice, will be published in late 2011. This volume is uniquely designed to advance both the theory and practice of combat resilience as applied to the complex and stressful context of modern-day warfare. Now accepting prospectus ideas! For more information on individual volumes, the overall series,
or to submit a prospectus idea for the Technology, Psychology, and Health Development series contact TPHseries@ist.ucf.edu
Warfighter Enhancement Activities Collaborators · points of contact Air Force agency for modeling and simulation (AFams) Bob “ROHO” Rohlfing (Col Ret.) . .........................robert.rohlfing@afams.af.mil
Naval Post-graduate School (Nps) Stephanie Few ...................................................................................smfew@nps.edu
aptima, inc. Jeanine Ayers . ............................................................................. jayers@aptima.com Jared Freeman, Ph.D. ..............................................................freeman@aptima.com Alexandra Geyer, Ph.D. . ............................................................ageyer@aptima.com Jean MacMillan, Ph.D. ......................................................jmacmillan@aptima.com Webb Stacy, Ph.D. .................................................................... wstacy@aptima.com Emily Wiese ............................................................................... ewiese@aptima.com
Office of Naval Research (onr) Ivy Estabrooke, Ph.D......................................................... ivy.estabrooke@navy.mil
archinoetics, llc Lance J. Myers, Ph.D. ...................................................... lance@archinoetics.com
United States Military Academy at West Point LTC Robert Kewley, Ph.D. .............................................. robert.kewley@usma.edu
Army Research, development and engineering command (RDECom) Neal M. Finkelstein, Ph.D. ...................................... neal.finkelstein@us.army.mil MAJ Jon Stevens ..................................................... jonathan.stevens@us.army.mil
UCF-IST ACTIVE Laboratory
office of the secretary of defense (osd) CAPT (Select) Dylan Schmorrow, Ph.D........................dylan.schmorrow@osd.mil Potomac Training Corp (PTC) Pete Muller..................................................... pmuller@potomactrainingcorp.com
Director Denise Nicholson, Ph.D. ................................................... dnichols@ist.ucf.edu
Army Research Institute (ARI) Stephen Goldberg, Ph.D. ....................................... stephen.goldberg@us.army.mil
Deputy Director Stephanie Lackey, Ph.D. ....................................................... slackey@ist.ucf.edu
Chi Systmens, Inc, Aaron Pepe, Ph.D. ................................................................ apepe@chisystems.com
ACTIVE Research Associates Daniel Barber....................................................................... dbarber@ist.ucf.edu Julie Drexler, Ph.D.............................................................. jdrexler@ist.ucf.edu Lauren Reinerman, Ph.D. . ................................................ lreinerm@ist.ucf.edu Eric C. Ortiz . .........................................................................eortiz@ist.ucf.edu Sae Schatz, Ph.D. .................................................................sschatz@ist.ucf.edu Jennifer Vogel-Walcutt, Ph.D. . ...............................................jvogel@ist.ucf.edu
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) LCDR Joseph Cohn, Ph.D. ................................................ joseph.cohn@darpa.mil Future Immersive Training Environment JCTD (FITE JCTD) Clarke Lethin (Col Ret.) ....................................................... lethinc@onr.navy.mil Marine Corps Training And Education Command (TECOM) Maj Brent Goodrum........................................................brent.goodrum@usmc.mil
Warfighter Enhancement Activities Editing and Compilation Sae Schatz, Ph.D. .................................................................sschatz@ist.ucf.edu Joy Martinez...................................................................... jmartinez@ist.ucf.edu