SONALYSTS INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs) are becoming increasingly popular and prevalent in the mi

Description

Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs) are becoming increasingly popular and prevalent in the military domain. The ability to train RPA crews is a significant challenge facing the community. A particularly vexing part of this problem is training the members of the crew to function as a team. RPA crews must effectively interact with stakeholders who are located around the world. Unfortunately, RPA crewmembers have essentially no opportunity to practice this coordination until they are conducting live missions. The REmotely Piloted Aircraft Synthetic Tutor (REPAST) technology will address this deficiency by providing synthetic agents that can realistically interact with the RPA team members. If a human is available to fill a given role, one will. If not, a synthetic agent will be used as a substitute. Automated and semi-automated performance assessment will enable real-time and after-action coaching. The REPAST synthetic agents are equipped with cognitive models and natural language processing capabilities that allow them to act and communicate as integral team members.