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Cognitive Engineering Practice
Case Studies:
Using an Advanced Embedded Training System (AETS)
_______________________________________________Challenge
The Aegis weapons command and control system, used on U.S. Navy destroyers and cruisers, can also run embedded war-game simulations to provide training opportunities at-sea. But training is limited because supervisors aren’t always available, and even when they are, the training can be inconsistent.
Aegis team training needs to be more automated and to provide on-line and after action feedback to individual watch standers as well as to the team. Conventional intelligent tutoring methods were not scalable to the complexity and openness of the Aegis training system, so new solutions were required.
Result
The Advanced Embedded Training System (AETS) provides simulation-based training and adds automated instruction, diagnosis, and training feedback to the built-in war-game simulation capability in Aegis. The diagnosis and instruction capabilities in AETS are generated by software models that simulate expert Aegis operators and training instructors. To build these models, the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division chose COGNET and iGEN.
A team from the CHI Systems Cognitive Engineering Practice conducted Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) of Aegis operator and Aegis training instructor expertise. The team used the CTA data to build iGEN-based cognitive agents that could tell AETS what the trainees should be doing at any point in a war-game scenario, and what knowledge they should be using to decide on and execute those actions. The CHI Systems team worked closely with the system integrator, Lockheed-Martin Advanced Technology Laboratory, to successfully integrate the cognitive agents into the AETS.
Reference
Zachary, W., Cannon-Bowers, J., Bilazarian, P., Krecker, D., Lardieri, P., & Burns, J. (1999). The Advanced Embedded Training System (AETS): An intelligent embedded tutoring system for tactical team training. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 10, 257-277.
