FAST-ACTS: Flexible Autonomous Support To Aid Context and Task Switching

PEO IWS is currently developing the Undersea Warfare Decision Support System (USW-DSS). The USW-DSS will enhance the Combat Information Center (CIC) by providing a "Common Tactical Picture" to operators for shared situation awareness. To help define and improve the USW-DSS concept, solutions are needed that can improve CIC operators'' abilities to switch contexts and multi-task more efficiently. Aptima proposes to help fill this gap by developing Flexible Autonomous Support To Aid Context and Tasking Switching (FAST-ACTS). The FAST-ACTS effort will develop a software application that can provide the following aspects: (1) a model that monitors the operator''s actions based on primitive system inputs, such as button presses or mouse clicks, and determines with high probability what tasks or objectives the operator is performing; (2) a platform based on Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) techniques that enhances the operator’s transition between tasks by visualizing task relationships within both global and local contexts; and (3) a module that tracks and visualizes the operator’s task history to help resume previous tasks more easily. Aptima’s in-house testbed, the DDD (Dynamic Distributed Decision-making), will be used to validate the feasibility and utility of FAST-ACTS without the need for a high-fidelity testing environment.