Assessment Tools for Evaluating Dynamic Flight Simulation and Force Cueing Fidelity to Improve Simulation Environment Effectiveness

Lumir Research Institute proposes to build the Cueing Automated Assessment Tool (CAAT), a software tool to facilitate evaluations of the effects of force cueing on training effectiveness.  The CAAT design will be based on an extensive review and analysis of training environments, force-cueing devices, force-cue sensitive tasks, and existing performance measurement tools (objective, subjective and physiological).  The measures employed by CAAT will address gaps in current measurement systems, will be sensitive enough to capture differences in reactions to force-cueing stimuli, and will be compatible with multiple training environments and force-cueing devices.  Results of studies enabled by CAAT can ultimately be used to define dynamic fidelity requirements, thus optimizing the cost and outcomes of training. BENEFIT: The research Lumir is proposing will directly address this critical need (understanding the effects of force cueing and varying levels of simulator fidelity) and provide tools to continue advancing the knowledge of the training community.  At the end of Phase II, the CAAT will exist both as a stand-alone tool and also as a complementary tool to be used in conjunction with PETS.   The Air Force would be free to use the CAAT with PETS at any of their facilities, which would provide free advertising and establish new support contacts (perhaps at other AF Labs).  This development strategy opens the door for numerous commercialization possibilities.  The CAAT could be integrated with devices like ETCs ATFS-400 and be marketed as an add-on to that system.  Other services may be interested in the CAAT as they are certainly facing some of the same fidelity questions in their own use of simulators for training, e.g., Army ground vehicle training, or NAVAIRs deployable cockpits.  Finally, the CAAT could also be marketed to the commercial flight training community, which currently has dynamic fidelity requirements for its simulators.