Sonar Training Motivation, Assessment, Tailoring, and Enhanced Remediation (ST-MASTER)

For Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)-capable surface ships, reaching and maintaining sailors"ASW proficiency is difficult. Existing training systems (e.g., SAST) can fail to sufficiently motivate sailors to participate in training, resulting in sonar operators and sonar watchstanding teams with diminished proficiency. Serious games, or, more generally, Immersive Learning Simulations (ILSs), have the potential to engage trainees, but are challenging to design within the constraints of operational environments. Charles River Analytics proposes to tackle this challenge by designing and demonstrating a Sonar Training Motivation, Assessment, Tailoring, and Enhanced Remediation (ST-MASTER) system. The ST-MASTER system will be based on an analysis of the requirements of the domain, resulting in the definition of use cases and customizable training scenarios. The system will incorporate models of motivation and skill within agent-based reasoning components to tailor ILS-based training. The system will assess individual and team proficiency, manage motivation levels, and provide feedback, using game-based displays and user interfaces for trainees and trainers. By leveraging existing, mature technologies, we will demonstrate both conceptual and engineering feasibility of the ST-MASTER system within the scope of a Phase I effort, while ensuring that, ultimately, ST-MASTER will successfully interface with Navy systems targeted for transition.