ACT-NOW: An Agent Based Framework of Anytime Cognition Technologies in Networked Operational Warfare/Environments

The core issue within Network Centric Environments is that the volume of information and the pace of action threaten to overwhelm human decision makings negating the NCO’s advantages for mission effectiveness. In order to address this problem, we present the innovation of an agent based software framework of Anytime Cognition Technologies in the Networked Operational Warfare / Environment, in short, ACT-NOW. The ACT-NOW solution includes: (1) an accurate understanding of the solicitation and the identification of practical scenarios and the associated technical challenges, (2) an integrated ACT-NOW architecture that employs various inter-connected constituent components and helps the human user understand the data and make timely decisions, (3) an investigation of the crosscutting technologies for the underlying algorithms, the information flow and control flow, and the communication interfaces and protocols of the constituent components, (4) a special effort in the anytime cognitive aspect of the human decision making, and finally (5) a design and proof of concept of the ACT-NOW software in reasonable simulations/experiments with suitable performance criteria and metrics. We will also explore the connection of the ACT-NOW framework with Army’s existing technologies/programs to achieve openness, generality and interoperability.