An Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) for Future Combat Systems (FCS) Robotic Vehicle Command

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An Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) for Future
Combat Systems (FCS) Robotic Vehicle Command

• I/ITSEC 2003

Presented by Randy Jensen jensen_at_stottlerhenke.
com Co-authors Henry Marshall, US Army
RDECOM Jeffrey Stahl, US Army RDECOM Richard
Stottler, Stottler Henke
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FCS Concept - Background

• Distributed robotic vehicles and sensors are
  networked to control vehicles, providing
• heightened situational awareness
• extended sensor capabilities
• reduced human risk

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FCS Training Challenge

• New paradigm requires scenario-based practice for
  FCS warfighters
• Formal tactical doctrine for FCS operational
  concept has not been developed
• Desirable to minimize costs of developing and
  administering training reduce requirements for
  human instructors and simplify scenario
  definition
• Intelligent Tutoring Systems are effective for
  simulating some of the benefits of a human
  instructor, especially for a domain with focused,
  task-based exercises

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Simulation Testbed

• Embedded Combined Arms Tactical Training and
  Mission Rehearsal (ECATT/MR) testbed developed at
  RDECOM
• Multi-screen control interface, on OTB simulation
• Software for controlling simulated entities is
  the same as that used for operating robotic
  vehicles

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Testbed User Interface Closeup
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Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) Architecture
Overview

• Simulation Interface provides two forms of data
  to Evaluation Machines
• Simulation states
• Student actions
• Instructional Manager sends notifications back to
  the student in the OCU environment, based on
  conclusions from the Evaluation Machines

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Principle-Based Evaluation
Distinct evaluation mechanisms indexed to
instructional principles
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FCS ITS Instructional Principle Categories

• TACTICAL DECISION MAKING
• Students ability to interpret the tactical
  situation and commanders intent, and decide what
  should be done
• Example Use airborne sensor assets to
  complement knowledge from ground-based vehicles

• COMMAND FORMULATION
• Students ability to translate tactical decisions
  into commands or orders that can be executed

• EXECUTION
• Students application of correct buttonology in
  execution

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FCS ITSInstructional Principle Examples
TASK
Use terrain concealment to detect enemy
positions from Unmanned Ground Vehicles
(UGVs) without being detected
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FCS ITS Instructional Principle Examples TACTICAL
TACTICAL Before cresting hills in terrain, halt
UGV and use mast sensors to scan for enemy
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FCS ITS Instructional Principle Examples COMMAND
FORMULATION
COMMAND FORMULATION When UGV movement will
include successive halt and resume, control the
vehicle with draggable points in the OCU
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FCS ITS Instructional Principle Examples
EXECUTION
EXECUTION The main HALT control halts all
vehicles the HALT control under Assign Task
halts the current vehicle
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Finite State Machine (FSM) Based Evaluations

• What are they?
• Transition networks executing in coordination
  with a simulation to gather data about
  instructionally significant events and states,
  and make evaluation conclusions in real time
• Why use them in an ITS?
• Several benefits
• Modularity they can be used separately or in
  conjunction for a variety of scenarios
• Instructional correspondence individual
  instructional principles can be associated with
  independent evaluations
• Integration the FSM structure is easily
  integrated with free-play simulations and maps
  well to diagnosis of widely varied outcomes
• Authoring ease they can be represented
  visually, making them easy for non-programmers to
  create, maintain, and revise

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Evaluation Machine Example
TACTICAL Before cresting hills in terrain, halt
UGV and use mast sensors to scan for enemy
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Lessons Learned

• Automated evaluation is suited for the domain of
  training the employment of robotic vehicles under
  the FCS concept
• Streamlining domain-specific requirements
  (simulation integration, scoping training
  objectives, etc.) reduces ITS development time
  and cost
• Preferable to avoid scenario-specific evaluation
• Example Identifying terrain where a UGV has an
  exposed hull.
• Scenario-specific approach Manually annotate
  areas on the map that represent hill crests where
  a UGV would be exposed
• Scenario-independent approach Use dynamic line
  of sight (LOS) calculations in the simulation to
  determine exposure

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Future Work

• Full system development with a rigorous
  collection of scenarios
• Enhanced feedback mechanisms, potentially with
  controls to pause or rewind the simulation
• Team training extensions
• Similar architecture applies in the team setting
• Scalable principle hierarchy supports reuse with
  scenarios involving a superset of instructional
  concepts
• ITS capabilities proposed for Integration into
  the Tank and Automotive Research and Development
  Command (TARDEC) Crew instrumentation and
  Automation Testbed