Dynamic Agent-based Reallocation and Tasking (DART)

ABSTRACT: Human planners face significant challenges in attempting to coordinate and synchronize operations across the unique complexities of the air, space and cyber domains in a way that maximizes utility of the available resources for addressing mission objectives. The significant disparities in domain-specific capabilities and their inter-dependencies make it difficult to synchronize the usage of assets across domains to fulfill a large number of tasks in a complex mission. As a result, human planners may overlook critical dependencies of task across domains and may also miss many opportunities to synergize domain capabilities that would have achieved the desired effects much faster, with fewer resources and with higher probability of a successful outcome. We propose to develop the Dynamic Agent-based Reallocation and Tasking (DART) system to offer a framework for resource allocation across diverse domains with particular focus on the coordination of air, space and cyber resources in fulfilling mission objectives. Our approach leverages key elements from research in mixed-initiative planning and resource allocation algorithms and provides a scalable service based architecture with web-based user interface. BENEFIT: The complete DART system will offer potential benefits across a broad set of tactical scenarios where resources from diverse domains are required to achieve mission success including disaster response, counter terrorism, counter narcotics and various operations which involve coordination of air, space and cyber resources. DART will optimize the allocation of resources to best meet mission objectives and will ensure that required dependencies between tasks are effectively managed across domains. We have developed a transition strategy focused initially on disaster response working with the Center for Asymmetric Warfare and will validate the tactical utility of DART in a large scale disaster response field exercise involving DoD, DHS, state and local authority response resource planning. In addition, through integration with the AFRL Cornerstone system and support for its ontologies the DART system will readily support USAF Air Operation Center planning and integration of relevant planning systems across air, space and cyber.