Mission Language Translator (MLT)

Unmanned robotic systems are a vital component of today’s military operations. They are useful for reconnaissance, security, logistics, and support, including very high risk operations. Military Commanders and their staffs need to be able to control these system in the field based on dynamic mission needs, but they do not have the necessary skills to program robots in their native control languages, which are better suited for computer scientists and roboticists. Military Commanders and their staffs should be able to specify high-level, autonomous missions for such unmanned systems using familiar military conventions, such as Commander’s intent, mission objectives, maps with icons and tactical graphics, and other high-level task specifications. We propose to design and demonstrate the feasibility of the Mission Language Translator (MLT), a system that gives Commanders and command staffs the capability to control robotic systems by specifying missions and Commander’s intent in a natural and intuitive manner and that translates such high-level mission plans into low-level robotic commands for autonomous mission execution.