NEUMET-CO: A NEUroimaging augmented METa-COgnition model to predict the decision-making capabilities of warfighters

Technological advances have significantly increased the complexity and speed of most operational environments resulting in escalating pressure on warfighters. There is an acute need for improved technologies to train and assess warfighters'cognition skills related to high-level tasks such as decision-making, planning and situation awareness. To this end, UtopiaCompression Corporation (UC) is proposing a suite of innovative modeling and assessment tools based on Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R) cognitive architecture that can be used to intelligently train warfighters and further provide relevant and personalized training remediation. In Phase I, UC has successfully demonstrated the advantage of using neuroimaging data to develop high resolution cognitive ACT-R models that account for warfighter's affect/emotions that considerably influence decision-making in HSCB and non-HSCB environments. During Phase II, our focus is to incorporate these high-fidelity models in a simulation environment to train forward observers using BAE Systems'training device. We will demonstrate the benefit of using high-fidelity models that can be personalized based on baseline subject measurements (neuroimaging and behavior data) and then be used independently to predict future trainee performance. Our solution must reduce the expert-in-the loop requirement for performance evaluation with significant reduction in subject/team training time and errors in decision-making.