Automated Planning Software For A Dynamic Heterogeneous Collection Of Manned And Unmanned Entities

This proposal is to continue development of a “Distributed Automated Planning System (DAPS) for a Dynamic Collection of Heterogeneous Manned and Unmanned Entities”. This system will create plans of action that integrate and optimally leverage the diverse range of capabilities provided by manned and unmanned platforms. The challenge is to devise an innovative planning decision aid system that reduces mission planning time and is scalable to support small teams (platoon or squad) as well as larger units (company, battalion or brigade). The system must produce an optimal plan as a sequence of actions required to achieve the desired goal by optimally leveraging the functionality of the available entities while assuring that doctrinal requirement and rules are addressed. Furthermore, the system must be sufficiently flexible to easily adapt to new operational uses for unmanned systems. Our proposed approach builds on our success in Phase I including a proof-of-concept that clearly demonstrated the feasibility of the DAPS technology for planning mixed initiative missions. There are three key innovative features in our approach: decomposing the planning problem into two parts – team formation and plan creation; using a hybrid of proven algorithmic and methodological approach to planning; and we focusing on developing team-oriented plans.