Tools to Support Understanding of Information Uncertainty in Combat Operations

Sonalysts proposes to investigate the field of research associated with uncertainty visualization and utilize this information in conjunction with human systems integration (HSI) design principles and subject matter expertise (SME) to design innovative uncertainty visualization approaches and methods for validating overall approach effectiveness. One of the biggest challenges for today’s war-fighter is the task of making important tactical decisions under stressful conditions based on a potentially large volume of information that has varying levels of uncertainty. In order to accurately interpret uncertain data from various sources effectively, it is important that the decision maker has an adequate understanding of the level of uncertainty associated with any particular data. This requires the employment of a visualization approach that conveys uncertainty in a way that allows the decision maker to associate the appropriate level of confidence in any given data. Sonalysts proposes to leverage its extensive experience with HSI to develop innovative uncertainty visualizations along with metrics and usability tests to quantify the overall effectiveness of new and existing uncertainty visualization strategies. The ability to effectively convey the level of uncertainty associated with tactical data increases the war-fighter’s ability to correctly make critical tactical decisions that achieve mission objectives and saves lives.