HIMAP: A Hierarchical Integrated Battle Management and Planning Aid Framework

Nowadays missile threats, specifically coordinated attacks involving multiple missiles, have become increasingly challenging. It is hard to fast and effectively allocate the rich and varied U.S. defense capabilities to negate the aforementioned missile threats. There is a need for an integrated system for battle managers, fire control and operators to effectively manage the U.S. missile defense capabilities, to determine the best response procedure(s) in a timely manner, and to understand the threat, the allocation of corresponding interceptors and the underlying rationale. Our solution is a hierarchical integrated battle management and planning aids framework, HIMAP, for effective situational awareness in stressful, time critical, and collaborative environments. In Phase II, we will design and develop effective knowledge representation including highly expressive extended hierarchical task networks to incorporate Missile Defense related factors, develop the framework demonstrated in Phase I into a prototypical yet fully functional software system with enhanced capabilities, investigate and adopt human effectiveness consideration in developing response processes to reduce humansf cognitive loads, and finally attempt to componentize certain HIMAP capabilities as "plug-ins" or "add-ons" into existing MDA programs and also seek the integration and transition into other DOD and commercial applications.